Less than a month after workers held a one-day strike, management at MarinHealth Medical Center agreed to significantly larger annual wage increases in order to avert another work stoppage.
The five-year contract for approximately 107 medical technicians will boost wages by 19 percent, helping workers stay in their jobs in one of the nation’s most expensive counties.
“It shouldn’t have taken a strike and the threat of another strike to finalize a deal, but I’m proud of my co-workers for refusing to accept management’s lowball offers,” said Cierra Thlang, an X-Ray technician. “We have to build off this agreement and be ready to win more next time around.”
MarinHealth Medical Center (formerly Marin General Hospital) is a 327-bed public district hospital that also serves as a Level III trauma center. The hospital has posted $62.9 million in operating profits between 2021 and 2022.
The NUHW members at the hospital include MRI technologists, ultrasound technologists, pharmacy technicians, and cardiac sonographers. They went on strike in April after seven months of bargaining during which management’s best wage offer included just 2.5 percent annual raises.
Workers had been pushing for 5 percent increases, but agreed to settle for just under 4 percent after management agreed to significantly increase its wage proposal under threat of a second strike.
“I’m proud of our strike and what it accomplished,” Thlang said. “We sent a strong message that management can’t steamroll us and that we’ll stand up and fight for ourselves and our patients.
