Healthcare workers protested Wednesday outside Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, Calif., over contract proposals from the hospital and its owner, San Francisco-based Dignity Health, according to a Santa Maria Times report.
The protesters, represented by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, claim Dignity Health proposed freezing workers' wages and cutting benefits, according to the report. Sean Wherley, spokesman for SEIU-UHW, told the Santa Maria Times he believes this contract proposal could destabilize the facility by making it more difficult to attract and retain qualified employees.
Megan Maloney, Dignity Health's senior director of marketing and communications apologized to patients, physicians and staff for any inconvenience caused by the picket.
"We believe the best place to resolve differences and achieve an agreement is at the bargaining table," she said, according to the report.
She added, "The healthcare workers participating in the informational picket are valued and respected members of our healthcare team. We will continue to negotiate in good faith in the hopes of reaching a fair and equitable agreement with our union."
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