Hospital Workers Rally Community, Fight to Save Jobs

Hospital Workers Rally Community, Fight to Save Jobs

Housekeepers, Dietary Staff Fired in Switch from St. Francis to Jameson Hospital

November 5, 2002

(Washington. DC) – Former St. Francis Hospital housekeepers and dietary staff, who lost their jobs when Jameson Hospital took over the St. Francis facility in New Castle, Pennsylvania, rallied Tuesday afternoon outside the hospital. The majority of the workers, represented by Teamsters Local 261, were fired when the hospital changed hands.

They gathered before a Jameson Hospital welcome dinner—an event that would previously have been staffed by Teamsters workers.

“We just want to make the public aware of what’s going on,” said Doug Robbins, President of Teamsters Local 261. “Jameson is going out there like the pillar of the community, but they’re booting our people out in the street.”

Anna Woods is among the displaced workers, not hired by Jameson despite her extensive experience at the hospital and her excellent work record.

“Jameson management wants people to see them as a blessing for New Castle, but they refused to hire me even though I’ve been a loyal worker here for years,” Woods said. “That’s not a blessing. It’s a curse.”

Woods is one of nearly 50 workers who worked at St. Francis Hospital under a contract with Sodexho, which fully paid the workers’ family health insurance costs. The few workers who were rehired by Jameson must now pay $100 per pay period to maintain those benefits.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States and Canada.