For Immediate Release
Tuesday, April 27, 1999
AFSCME Local 2094 Members Protest Years of Pay Freezes
WASHINGTON —With IVP and NUHHCE President Henry Nicholas at their side and with a strong show of support by commuters as they passed by, more than 150 members of Howard University Hospital Employees (National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees (NUHHCE)/AFSCME Local 2094) protested years of pay freezes and the cancellation of their union contract by the hospital management today in front of the District of Columbia hospital.
Local 2094 represents approximately 790 hospital employees in a wide variety of positions including licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists, medical technicians and secretaries. The local is the hospital’s largest employee bargaining unit.
Union members have been working under a contract that expired in 1995. The union tried to get management into negotiations for a year-and-a-half before the National Labor Relations Board intervened and brought management to the bargaining table. What management calls its final contract offer includes another wage freeze. While the union opposes such a freeze, management has refused to negotiate wages and to explain its proposal. On April 12, management informed union members that their contract was being terminated and that union dues would no longer be deducted from paychecks.
In sharp contrast to management’s treatment of Local 2094 members over the past few years, Howard University Hospital has given top executives raises of up to $20,0000. It also has awarded middle management substantial raises and bonuses amounting to as much as 11 percent, has given the hospital a multi-million dollar renovation and hired a union busting law firm at $300 per hour.
