Caregivers and community supporters rally for Equal Treatment for Equal Work

Legacy workers picket Emanuel Hospital July 28

Donna Qualls, an OR Tech with 33 years at Emanuel Hospital, speaks at an Informational Picket and rally on July 28


On July 28, 2008, Legacy Emanuel and Good Samaritan workers were joined by elected officials, SEIU members from other hospitals, members of other unions, community  supporters, Jobs with Justice members, and religious leaders.

Together, over 200 of us held a spirited informational picket to educate our community about issues at Emanuel Hospital. Together, we sent a powerful message to Legacy administration: We need Equal Treatment for Equal Work. And we’re sticking together until we get it!

“This is my hospital," said Oregon State Representative Chip Shields. "This is my wife’s hospital. This is my daughter’s hospital — she was born here in March 2008. People in my neighborhood, on my block, work at this hospital … I assure you, on behalf of Speaker Merkley and the Oregon House Democrats, we will stand with you until the job is done.”

Donna Qualls, an OR Tech with 33 years at Emanuel Hospital, said, “This is my community. I grew up here, I live here, and I work here. I want patient care at this hospital to be the best it can be. That means we, the people who do the work, who clean the rooms, who cook the food, who sit with patients one on one — we all need to be treated with respect. We need equal treatment for equal work. We need a one-year contract to unite with Good Sam, so we can improve patient care, stronger together.”

Emanuel caregivers are the lowest-paid workers in the entire Legacy System. At over $200/month for family coverage, many of us at Legacy can’t even afford the health care we work so hard to provide. Low pay has a direct impact on the quality of patient care we provide to our community. When everybody knows they can make more money at another hospital, they don’t stay long at Emanuel. 74% of Emergency Techs, 68% of Patient Transporters, and 71% of CNAs have been at Emanuel less than five years.

“There are times when we have only one transporter for the whole hospital," said Carlotta Franklin, a Patient Transporter with 9 years at Emanuel. "This means patients sit and wait. Sometimes surgeons have to come get their own patients for surgery. When we’re that short-staffed, we often don’t get our breaks. We’re working rushed; it’s easy to forget things. We’re cleaning equipment faster than we should. It’s not safe.

People don’t stay at Emanuel. A lot of people get their training here and then go to other hospitals that pay better. In my department, it seems like we lost every new hire in the last year. We’re constantly training new people, which slows us down even further.”

Caregivers at Good Sam and Emanuel Hospitals are uniting so we will have the strength to advocate for quality patient care in the Legacy system. We are committed to do whatever it takes, but we can’t do it alone. We need your support to compel Legacy to treat us fairly. Caregivers and community members are stronger together.

Five things you can do to support quality care at Legacy Hospitals

1. Call Pam Vukovich, Interim CEO, at 503.415.5730. Tell her Emanuel caregivers need Equal Treatment for Equal Work.
2. Join us at the leaflet action at Good Samaritan Hospital on August 14.
2. Sign the Stronger Together Petition to support our effort to unite caregivers at Good Samaritan and Emanuel Hospitals.
3. Put up a lawn or window sign. (Contact Chad Sullivan to request a sign)
4. Talk to your neighbors, friends, co-workers, and members of your church.
5. Do you have a story about inadequate care received at Legacy? Please share it with us.


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