Brien Center Union Votes to Strike on July 6Staff Reports, iBerkshires
02:02PM / Monday, June 22, 2015 | |
 Brien Center workers doing informational picketing in March in North Adams over contract negotiations. SEIU 509 has voted to strike on July 6. |
Updated at 5:18 p.m. to include remarks from Brien Center CEO M. Christine Macbeth.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Some 350 union workers at the Brien Center have voted to go on strike on July 6 if contract negotiations fail to resolve pay and benefits issues.
Brien Center officials say they will be meeting with a federal mediator on June 30 and plan to continue operations at the mental health and substance abuse agency should the strike occur.
Service Employees International Union 509 and Brien Center management have been at loggerheads since last September. Workers held informational pickets outside the Brien Center's offices in North Adams and Pittsfield in March.
SEIU representatives say the strike could result in the closure of the nonprofit agency, affecting the health care of thousands of county residents.
At issue has been wages and health insurance costs. Local 509 is asking for a 5 percent raise; management had offered 1.5 percent, with the possibility of raising that in the next fiscal year should the agency's finances improve. Workers say the agency's determination to raise employees' share of health insurance costs by 34.5 percent effectively results in a pay cut.
In a statement, Brien Center CEO M. Christine Macbeth said the union's demands are "financially unsustainable."
"We want our employees to feel fairly treated but the union's numbers don't add up," she wrote. "It would be financially irresponsible of this agency to agree to the union's demands given our financial realities."
The Brien Center has roots dating back nearly a century. It provides substance abuse and mental health programs for some 10,000 residents annually, including 4,000 at-risk children, and day care for disabled adults and the elderly. It employs about 450 people in all.
Clinicians and direct-care staff say many of them hold bachelor's and master's degrees but wages average about $13 an hour (management says this is closer to $16.). This causes high turnover at the agency, affecting its ability to provide quality health care, employees say.
"When I started at Brien, one of my first clients asked how long I planned to stay. He had worked with a new nurse every month up to that point," said Jessica Kemp, a registered nurse in Brien's substance-abuse treatment program, in a statement provided by SEIU. "We voted to strike because the clients we serve deserve better. This work is just too important to devote anything less than consistent, high-quality care provided by experienced and passionate staff."
In March, Macbeth said raising wages to 5 percent would cost the agency more $3 million over three years, significantly affecting its ability to provide sustainable services. The center had offered a one-year contract at 1.5 percent with a productivity incentive plan for certain employees because it felt it would be in a better financial position in the fall.
Local 509 states that "barring a significant course correction," it will go on strike beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, July 6.
"We hope that this action will not be necessary and that we will be able to resolve all outstanding issues before that date," writes Rick Page, field representative for SEIU Local 509, in the letter informing the Brien Center and state and federal labor officials of the decision to strike.
"We hope to avoid a strike on July 6 so we are meeting with a federal mediator on June 30," Macbeth wrote. "However, our utmost priority is keeping people safe and supporting their treatment and recovery."
She said, in the event of a strike, the center "will remain open and operate as normally as possible to provide the critical services to the thousands of people in our community who count on us."
Brien Center Strike Notice 61815 by iBerkshires.com
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