UPMC workers voice grievances at press conference

City officials, labor leaders and former UPMC employees gathered for a press conference on Tuesday morning demanding that UPMC raise workers’ wages and stop harassing employees who want to unionize.

The press conference, which took place at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the City-County Building, comes in the wake of a National Labor Relations Board complaint released last week. The NLRB complaint consolidates more than 45 charges that the Service Employees International Union filed against UPMC, including charges that UPMC employees threatened and interrogated workers who supported unionization and charges that UPMC fired four employees who were engaged in union activity.

City Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak organized the conference, which featured speeches by Ron Oakes and Jim Staus, two UPMC workers who have become the face of the workers’ protest against the health care giant. According to the NLRB complaint, Staus and Oakes were allegedly fired for supporting unionization.

Additionally, Councilman Bruce Kraus, Allegheny Labor Council President Jack Shea and others spoke out against UPMC. Members of United Steelworkers, a Pittsburgh-based union, as well as United Food and Commercial Workers, Unite Here and some international unions, showed support by wearing T-shirts. 

“UPMC is continuing to coerce, continuing to intimidate, continuing to fire its employees just for supporting unionization,” Rudiak said. 

She said that the new NLRB complaint comes just days after UPMC entered into a settlement regarding the previous wave of allegations, which proves that UPMC isn’t making a real change in policy. 

The original settlement dealt with a complaint alleging that UPMC had illegally quashed union-organizing efforts at its hospitals in both Shadyside and Oakland.UPMC officials declined to comment. 

Oakes, a former UPMC transport employee, was fired twice by UPMC.

After the settlement for the first NLRB complaint, Oakes got his job back. Three weeks later, he lost it again.

“It was for union activity,” said Oakes. “But they came up with, it was for absenteeism.” 

Oakes said that he and other activists at the conference weren’t attacking UPMC, but were standing up for their coworkers.

Staus, a former UPMC supply specialist, had worked for UPMC for more than seven years before being deemed “inept” after showing union support. He recalled wearing a “We’re with Ron” sticker to a work meeting to support Oakes after his firing, and his boss asked about the sticker.

“Well, I’m with the union, I want to start a union,” Staus replied to his boss. “After that, I was harassed and badgered on the job.”

Staus added that he was put on a performance-improvement program, but he continued to receive written and verbal warnings until he was fired under the allegation that he didn’t meet the standard necessary to do his job.  

“They need a voice,” Oakes said, referring to union workers at UPMC. “They need a living wage. They need respect. That’s all we’re asking for.”