Monthly Archives: July 2020

A new group of workers at Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco, Wash., recently joined UFCW Local 21 for the better wages and benefits they have earned and deserve.

The 65 workers, who are employed as nurses aides, medical secretaries, and patient transporters, joined UFCW Local 21 because they wanted the same benefits as their unionized colleagues at the medical center, including quality raises and cost of living increases; a just process for discipline; a fair paid time off and sick leave system; safe staffing levels; and respect and transparency from management. The workers voted to join UFCW Local 21, which represents over 18,000 members in the health care industry, via a mail-ballot election administered by the National Labor Relations Board.

During the organizing campaign, members of UFCW Local 21 who are registered nurses at Lourdes Medical Center reached out to their coworkers to share the value of being a member of our union family.

“I have been a UFCW 21 member at Lourdes for about five years now,” said Nicole Worley. “Being a part of the union makes your voice stronger–it protects your job and your coworkers’ jobs. In health care today, when we all risk just becoming a number, the union has our backs. Join us nurses so we can fight together to keep Lourdes a place we want to work!”

The new members are looking forward to having a voice in the workplace and negotiating their first union contract.

Isaac Avalos is a patient transporter at Lourdes Medical Center.

“I walk almost 15 miles every day moving patients and get paid barely over the minimum wage,” said Isaac Avalos, a patient transporter. “I know that while other hospitals in the area have better protections than us, we are at the mercy of our management. Our job is to take care of people, but we need to take care of each other, too. I enjoy working with my coworkers. They are really good people! Together, I truly believe that we can protect our jobs and fight to get fair wages.”

The UFCW’s Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Office has guidelines to help members reduce the risk of heat illness this summer during a national health crisis.

With outside temperatures soaring, the use of personal protection equipment (PPE) to keep our members safe from COVID-19 increases the chances of overheating. The use of PPE may trap heat and perspiration on the body’s surface and increase the core body temperature to dangerous levels. Given the dual challenge of moderating the risks of heat stress and exposure to COVID-19, it’s imperative that employers take measures to protect workers who are exposed to heat. For example, employers may need to supply replacement masks more often, since masks may get damp and contaminated in the heat and humidity.

To prevent heat illness, employers should make sure all workers should have access to:

• Adequate amounts of drinking water.
• Regular rest breaks or rest periods in a cool area.
• Regular bathroom breaks, as necessary.
• Increased air circulation through the use of air conditioning, fans and general ventilation.
• Education on the early signs of heat-related illness.
• Time to acclimatize to the heat. It takes about one week for the body to adjust to
working in the heat.

Hot weather safety strategies should include:

• Training all management and hourly employees with an emphasis on how to
recognize a medical emergency (heat stroke).
• Having a clearly written protocol on how to respond to a medical emergency.
• Training all management and hourly employees on workers’ right to access
drinking water, as needed, and the right to access bathrooms, as needed.
• Monitoring particularly hot work areas and a plan in place for when the heat
index approaches the extreme caution zone.

Two major heat-related illnesses are heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat exhaustion, if left untreated, may progress to deadly heat stroke. The symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke are listed below:

Locals are encouraged to help to get the word out to stewards and members to make sure no member is put in harm’s way to due to hot weather conditions. For more information about heat and heat-related illness or for heat prevention materials available in English and Spanish, contact Robyn Robbins, director of the UFCW OSH Office, at rrobbins@ufcw.org.