Hospital union workers announce strike plans

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Union workers at Cabell Huntington Hospital announced Tuesday night they will strike beginning at noon Wednesday.

Joyce Gibson, secretary/treasurer of SEIU/1199, released the following statement:

“Late Monday evening, workers at Cabell Huntington Hospital were given a last, best, and final offer from management. Cabell has committed multiple unfair labor practice charges and continues to harass and threaten union members. Wednesday, November 3rd. This comes after months of negotiations with the executives at CHH, who have repeatedly made it clear that they value profits over workers and patients. This conflict comes after decades of successful contract negotiations with previous hospital administrations, but clearly these executives have decided that they will be prioritizing profits over care, staffing, retention, and dignity. They are paying contracted outside workers who are not invested in our community, rather than take care of their dedicated long-term employees. This is very unfortunate this hospital would refuse to invest into this community and their dedicated employees who have worked tirelessly through this pandemic taking care of you and your families, and now unable to take care of themselves.”

The union represents more than 1,000 workers at Cabell Huntington Hospital.

We reached out earlier Tuesday to Kevin Yingling, CEO of Mountain Health and president of Cabell Huntington Hospital, who declined comment.

On Monday, we reported that several patients were notified their procedures and surgeries are either being postponed or moved to another hospital ahead of the potential strike.

Keep checking the WSAZ app for the latest information.

Some surgeries postponed ahead of possible hospital strike