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SALT LAKE CITY — The state's first health care worker's union hoped to deliver a petition with over 2,000 signatures in person to the head of University of Utah Health Hospitals and Clinics this week, asking for solutions to problems the union says its workers are facing.
Instead, CEO Dan Lundergan on Tuesday asked Utah Health Care Workers United to send an email "to a generic admin address," according to a union news release.
"I have worked as a nurse at the University of Utah Hospital for 10 years," Jessica Stauffer, interim president of the union, said in the statement. "In that time, I have seen administration fail us as staff. The administration sends out survey after survey with no major changes."
The petition, which was launched early this year, to give workers an outlet to express their frustration, contained three central demands:
- Address income disparities by matching wages to those at comparable institutions and develop transparent payment practices.
- Increase parental leave, paid time off and sick days.
- Provide affordable employee parking and improve commuter access.
The union's release says U. Health is instituting worse staffing ratios for health care assistants, "forcing them to care for up to 12 patients in critical care and up to eight patients in acute care." The union worries this will impact patient care.
"The state of Utah is not broke; we can afford to pay for good care for patients, and that means treating hospital staff with dignity and respect," said Ian Decker, a Utah Health Care Workers United member.
Although the union wasn't able to deliver its petition to Lundergan, University of Utah Health on Tuesday responded with a following statement:
"At University of Utah Health, we value open dialogue and are happy to engage with employees who have concerns about their work environment.
"As a preferred employer, we take care of one another just as we take care of our patients. This year every employee received an annual pay increase, full and part-time employees at manager-level and below who work at eligible hospitals and clinics locations received a parking stipend, we have reviewed and are enhancing our time away from work guidelines, and we regularly review local and national compensation data to ensure we're competitive with our peers. Retaining our talented care teams is a top priority, and we regularly engage with them to better understand and meet their needs. There are avenues for employees to meet with leadership on an individual basis to discuss ideas or concerns.
"While U of U Health cannot formally recognize organizations for collective bargaining purposes, we remain committed to transparency, active listening, and collaboration. We encourage ongoing communication with our teams to enhance working conditions and address any issues."
The union says while Lundergan offered to meet with employees one-on-one, they believe a group meeting would be more impactful.
"As individuals, we are weak, but we are strong when united. Offering to talk only via email or one-on-one shows that Mr. Lundergan does not want to deal with workers united in a position of power, but only as divided individuals," the release says.
