CLEVELAND — Cleveland Clinic Lutheran Hospital union workers and their supporters hit the streets Wednesday afternoon to call for a fair contract amid ongoing negotiations.
Members of Service Employees International Union District 1199 claim the Clinic has "refused to bargain on good faith" after their previous collective bargaining agreement expired earlier this year.
In July the union voted to strike over what they call "unfair labor practices" from management.
"The hospital tried to take away our right to have a union back in February, we obviously fought that back and told them we want our union and ever since then they're just stepping on our necks," said Brian Higgins, a powerplant mechanic at Lutheran Hospital.
Higgins said working conditions have gotten worse over the last 9 months and union members are being retaliated against.
"I've been here 14 years, I've always got an outstanding or a strong evaluation the top two you can get, since we turned in this informational picket I've been written up three times, the hospital is trying to silence my voice and silence my workers voice," Higgins said.
The group said they are being denied pay increases and healthcare benefits that other non union employees receive.
"If you're offering paid maternity leave and parental leave , why are you not offering it to us?" Higgins said.
Lourdes Foley is a nurse's aide and has been at the hospital for 30 years. She said she was assaulted by a patient on Sunday then was expected to keep working.
"I go to [the] ER, the manager is covering my floor at the time is saying when are you getting back to work, I had her on speaker, me and a doctor said no she's not coming back to work," Foley said.
Local leaders joined the group to show their support.
"Roughly two thirds of the workforce we're talking about are women, 60% are persons of color, this is a class of people that we need to continue to support," said Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.
Ronayne joined Senator Sherrod Brown, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and U.S. Representatives Emilia Sykes and Shontel Brown in sending a letter to the hospital pushing for a fair contract and requesting a meeting with leadership. The group said it had previously asked for a meeting but was denied.
3News reached out to the Cleveland Clinic for comment. A spokesperson shared this statement:
“We look forward to resuming negotiations this Friday with the bargaining unit at Lutheran Hospital. We want to reassure the community that care for patients will continue uninterrupted at the hospital.”
The two sides will meet on Friday August 18 to continue contract talks.