A few dozen Brigham & Women's Faulkner Hospital workers in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood temporarily walked out on the job to join a rally Tuesday afternoon to demand pay increases.
“We need help, we need the money and this is us making a stand,” said Seth Campbell, a pharmacy technician who said his department has been understaffed for years.
“We’ve had people leave because they don’t pay enough and it just doesn’t make sense.”
Andy Rodgers says he also works in the pharmacy department and is a delegate for United Health Workers East, 1199 SEIU, the union bargaining with the hospital for a new contract since July.
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“Most of us have second jobs and third jobs. We have a lot of immigrant workers, really a big group of low-paid workers making around $15 an hour and I don’t think anyone can live in Boston on $15 an hour honestly,” said Rodgers. “The last proposal the hospital gave us was an increase of 10 cents.”
He says the union would like to see pay for hospital employees starting at $18 an hour.
“You could go work at Starbucks and make more money or you can come work at a hospital where you need to have education and certificate and continuing education and be registered with the state why would anybody do that for $16 an hour.”
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A spokesperson for the hospital said to honor the integrity of the bargaining process they could not comment on specific negotiations.
In a statement, the hospital’s executive director of human resources said, “Our goal has been, and remains, to reach a fair agreement that supports and recognizes the critical work of our staff in providing high-quality care to our patients. We continue to work towards that goal.”
“We are struggling to put food on our tables, to pay our rent. Everything is high,” said union member Xiomara Heredia. “We need better pay.”
A source close to the negotiations clarified the proposed 10-cent increase is from the latest iteration of the bargaining agreement and not the original wage which includes substantial increases across the board.
The union expects to return to the bargaining table Thursday.
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