When 21 pharmacists at MarinHealth Medical Center began organizing with NUHW, management created numerous obstacles, including pursuing a longshot legal argument that the pharmacists were all supervisors.
Management’s anti-union tactics failed, and in February, the workers voted to join pharmacy technicians and imaging technologists at the 327-bed public district hospital, as NUHW members.
The pharmacists were frustrated by low pay, poor scheduling standards, and unfair workplace practices, which unfortunately persisted even after they organized.
In April, management started unfairly writing up workers for routine actions, such as informing patients about cheaper prescription options in Canada or Mexico if they couldn’t afford them in the United States, or clocking in early to help with assignments. About one-third of pharmacists faced more than a dozen notices, including a leader of the organizing committee, who received five write-ups.
The workers knew these actions were unfair and unwarranted, and challenged them. In June, they filed a class-action grievance alleging wrongful discipline and retaliation by their local managers, and they won.
After reviewing the evidence, MarinHealth’s top management agreed to a settlement, reducing or eliminating disciplinary measures against the pharmacists.
“Our membership in NUHW is already paying dividends to members even though we haven’t completed contract negotiations,” Pharmacist Eugene Malmquist said. “We were able to have nearly all the recent unjust disciplinary actions removed through the power of our organization. This would have been impossible for one worker to have defended alone.”
