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Van De Wege says hospital, union have no valid reason to avoid binding arbitration

24th District lawmaker sends letter to hospital CEO, union president 

OLYMPIA –Frustrated and disappointed by recent events in the contract dispute between Olympic Medical Center and its workers, state Rep. Kevin Van De Wege (D – Sequim) sent a letter yesterday to OMC chief executive officer Eric Lewis and SEIU Healthcare Local 1199NW president Diane Sosne.  The text of the letter, which formally calls upon both parties to enter binding arbitration, appears below. 

In a February 2 press release, Van De Wege publicly pushed for binding arbitration as a fair and final method of resolving the long-standing dispute.  But OMC’s board of commissioners moved that same day to approve a contract that had not been agreed upon by the union.  OMC’s health care workers are legally prohibited from striking; a court ruled last August that as public employees, they cannot strike.  Van De Wege is concerned that unilateral action by OMC management will lead to a protracted court battle, low morale among workers, and further distrust between OMC workers and management, none of which benefits patients or the community.

Binding arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution that takes place out of court.  Its history in the United States dates back to the 18th Century, although its importance in labor-management relations grew with the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947.  In binding arbitration, both parties are given an opportunity to present evidence and testimony to a neutral third party, or arbitrator.  The arbitrator’s decision is considered final, and is very rarely reconsidered by the courts.  Both parties agree to abide by the arbitrator’s decision.  It is an efficient and cost-effective way to resolve disagreements.

Van De Wege says neither the OMC board of commissioners nor the union has presented valid reasons why the ongoing contract dispute cannot be resolved through binding arbitration. 

The full text of the letter Van De Wege sent to Lewis and Sosne is as follows:

Earlier this month, I publicly called for both the OMC commissioners and the hospital’s SEIU-represented health care workers to enter binding arbitration in order to resolve a protracted contract negotiation stalemate.  The impasse has had a divisive effect on our community and led to an atmosphere of mistrust between management and workers.

Unfortunately, to my great disappointment, the OMC commissioners opted to further escalate the situation by unilaterally approving a contract the workers did not agree to.  With talk now of possible legal action by the health care workers’ union, I am compelled to contact both parties directly to more strongly insist on binding arbitration as a means to resolve this rapidly-deteriorating situation.

Neither side has presented a valid reason as to why the binding arbitration process would not work in this case.  It is a thorough, fair, and ultimately final process that would allow both sides to present their cases.  If, as OMC commissioners claim, the hospital’s current financial situation precludes the specific contract terms that health care workers are demanding, the arbitrator will rule in hospital’s favor.  I see no risk to OMC whatsoever that it would be required to pay for contracts it cannot afford.  Likewise, the union will be able to present its best case and would know, even if it does not prevail, that OMC commissioners acted in good faith to bring this dispute to an end.

Unilateral action is not the path to consensus.  It does not foster a positive work environment or good employer-employee relations.  It is not in the best interests of OMC’s patients or the community in general.  Because the represented workers are legally barred from striking, binding arbitration is the only safeguard they have to prevent management from doing whatever it wants to worker contracts.  This move by OMC commissioners sets a dangerous precedent and could divert some of the hospital’s already-limited dollars toward legal fees rather than health care.  Our health care professionals and their families need security, and right now all they have is doubt and uncertainty.

As lawmakers here in Olympia consider possible cuts in state funding to rural hospitals, my priority is protecting access to quality health care for the people of our community. OMC commissioners and union negotiators must do their part towards this objective as well, by utilizing the binding arbitration process to come to a final resolution on the issue of worker contracts.  Our community deserves nothing less.