WORCESTER – United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1445, the union which represents over 1000 workers within the UMass Memorial Medical Center system in Worcester, provided hospital leadership the official 10-day notice for strike action on Friday, May 31.
The contract between the union and UMass expires on June 8. If the two sides have not reached an agreement by Monday, the union says it intends to request a vote of its members to authorize a strike.
Healthcare labor regulations require the 10-day notice before any strike action takes place.
The union represents over 1000 workers at the hospital that include medical technologists, technicians, and laboratory staff as well as housekeepers and food service workers across multiple UMass Medical campuses.
The union held a rally on May 27 and conducted informational picketing since. It cites the outsourcing of jobs, unsafe staffing levels, and inadequate wage increases as the top issues in the dispute.
The two sides have scheduled two bargaining meetings during this week. The union scheduled a vote to ratify whatever agreement the hospital offers this week on June 6. In a statement, the union says that “if that offer does not represent a meaningful step forward for the more than 1,000 members of this bargaining unit, a
strike authorization will be requested.”
Without an agreement that addresses the outstanding issues, the union says that “UFCW members will be ready to begin strike action on Monday, June 9th.”
Both sides say they hope to avoid a work stoppage.
