Vote Yes: A Message from Labcorp Providence Laboratory Workers

We are the laboratory workers at Labcorp Providence who are voting "YES" on our upcoming union election, which will determine whether or not we are able to have union representation in our workplace. We are writing to share a little bit about why we as the laboratory workers serving Providence at Labcorp have chosen to form this union, and to give our community a window into what our lives are like as healthcare workers. Our healthcare system has been stretched to the limit these past few years, and we have seen first hand the

Nearly 120 Labcorp laboratory professionals serving Providence Portland have filed their public intention to unionize today. These healthcare workers chose to join the 6,000 member Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP), a local affiliate of the 1.8 million member AFT national union. These lab workers are employed by the for-profit company Labcorp, which is contracted by Providence to provide the Portland area hospital’s lab services. 

"We decided to unionize because we want to ensure a stable, well-trained, well-staffed medical laboratory is available to our community

Our Legacy Meridian Park Techs have voted by an overwhelming 96% to ratify our first union contract! This new contract includes:

• At Least a 4% Raise, based on the Median Wage converted into a dollar amount.
• $1,200 Ratification Bonus, prorated to the FTE.
• Evening Shift Differentials
• Dispute Resolution and Grievance System
• Preference for Union Employees on Assignment
• Seniority for Job Preferences

You can click here to read the contract it in its entirety, but it is also going through additional revisions to remove typos and make adjustments. There is also an appendix that will be added to outline both

Our Respiratory Therapists at Kaiser Permanente have been fighting to fix their short staffing crisis by getting market adjustments to address the historically low wages. On October 29th, a number of RTs along with leaders and stewards in the Tech unit met with Human Resources to read a letter and make their demands clear: we need to bring RT wages up to those in other areas covered by the Alliance agreement that have similar costs of living. After telling these members that they would return with a response, Kaiser said it had "no interest" in bargaining over these wages. This answer is

On November 9th, the Social Committee will be hosting our annual Unity Night at The Aerie at Eagle Landing (10220 SE Causey Ave, Happy Valley) where we will be having a Casino Night, appetizers, and a 50/50 raffle! Food will be provided and an optional cash bar will be available, so show up as you are, invite a friend or family member, and let's make this a night to remember! Our OFNHP colors are red, so wear red and show your union pride! We will be collecting unwrapped children's gifts for Presents from Partners to be distributed this holiday season.

The White House has recently announced that an additional $4.5 billion in student loan debt relief is available that will affect about 60,000 workers across the country. They are accomplishing this massive feat by updating the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, bringing the total amount of debt foregiveness to over $175 billion for nearly five million people. But if we consider the PSLF then that number climes by an astounding $74 billion for a million of us. 

Many of our members are eligible to student debt relief with the PSLF, which provides debt relief after a set period of