GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — Around 200 hospital workers hosted an informational picket Thursday to protest low wages and staffing shortages at Trinity Grand Haven Hospital.
Workers delivered a picket notice on May 5 after Trinity did not propose any wage offer in negotiations.
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) workers called on Trinity to invest in the community at a press conference in front of the hospital last month.
Additionally, they promised to escalate their campaign if their demands were not met.
Workers say Trinity proposed low wages that are creating a staffing crisis at the facility because the hospital cannot find and keep employees.
“Nearly every department at our hospital is understaffed and severely underpaid and has been for some time. News of the acquisition by Trinity was actually something I saw as an incentive when I was offered a position here.
“I was excited to think that this small close knit community hospital would not only be able to provide the personalized care of a smaller facility but that with the resources of a large healthcare system, we would be able to bring wages up enough to bring in and retain qualified staff to provide exceptional medical care to our community.
“Being located so close to Muskegon, the logical option would be for Trinity to offer a similar contract with competitive wages and benefits.
“Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Trinity has completely stalled at the bargaining table, only offering no raises and subpar working conditions,” Trinity Grand Haven Ultrasound Technician Erin Dexter said.
Nearly 200 North Ottawa Community Hospital workers voted to affiliate with the SEIU last December after Trinity acquired the hospital and renamed it Trinity Grand Haven.
SEIU represents diagnostic imaging techs, lab assistants and technologists, housekeepers, dietary workers and social workers, unit clerks, patient care associates and medics, along with many other positions at Trinity Grand Haven.
“We have seen the quality of care deteriorate because we have a staffing crisis. It has gotten to the point where candidates won’t look at our job listing because the pay is so far below all other facilities in the area. There are times when we don’t even have candidates to interview,” Ricky Kauffman, the lead radiographer at Trinity Grand Haven, said.
“Trinity comes in and we say, ‘hey, they’ve got all this money. They can close this gap. We can hire qualified staff. We can retain qualified staff. We can increase the level, improve the level of care that we’re able to provide to our community because people aren’t overworked, people aren’t totally burnt out,’ but, unfortunately, that just hasn’t bee happening,” Dexter added.
SEIU hospital workers at Trinity Health Muskegon won a contract last year that boosted wages to competitive levels for the region.
FOX 17 reached out to Trinity Health Grand Haven, which gave us the following statement:
"Trinity Health Grand Haven is committed to negotiating in good faith with the collective bargaining union covering our colleagues who support the care of our patients. Completing these contracts and taking care of our colleagues are top priorities. Trinity Health Grand Haven values our colleagues' commitment to providing compassionate, healing care to those we serve. Investing in our colleagues, communities and facilities is essential to our mission."
