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Negotiators from Tri-Cities Laboratory and a union representing lab workers will resume talks Wednesday in an attempt to reach an agreement on wages and other work conditions.
The union and lab have been in talks off and on since the summer of 2008, a few months after lab employees voted to join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21.
Union negotiator David Fleishman said attempts to mediate an agreement failed earlier this summer when the lab's management refused to offer any new proposals the union found acceptable.
The lab employs about 190 people and takes care of the medical testing needs of nearly 1,000 people a day in the Mid-Columbia, including through doctors' offices and hospitals.
Talks have stalled on two key issues -- whether new lab employees would be required to join the union and maintain membership, and whether raises would be given based on merit or according to a fixed wage scale.
Paul Christensen, Tri-Cities Laboratory general manager, said employees traditionally have gotten raises under a merit-based system the lab wants to keep in place.
"The union wants standard, set, predetermined pay increases," Christensen said. "We want to continue to do what we've done in the past, which is merit-based. We do give raises every year but the amount of the increase is based on performance. If they exceed job expectations, we want to be able to give them additional (increases). The union wants us to have a fixed increase with no discretion."
But Fleishman said a wage scale would guarantee pay for health care workers, and is in line with industry standards.
Another sticking point has been the union's desire for what Fleishman described as a "grandfathered union shop," or one in which current employees can choose whether to join the union but any new employees would be required to join and pay dues.
He said that requirement keeps a union strong and gives it more bargaining power.
"We have expressed an interest in looking at options, but not to the point it will totally limit our ability to do what we've got to do," Fleishman said.
Christensen, however, said the lab wants employees to have a choice whether or not to participate in the union.
Neither side could anticipate whether the new talks would result in an agreement.
"We don't know what to expect," Christensen said. "We have revised our proposal and will present it next week when we meet. ... We have not really changed our basic position on key areas"
He remained tight-lipped on details, saying it would be premature to discuss the lab's proposal outside of negotiations.
The new talks come as 38 Tri-Cities Laboratory employees will become employees of Kennewick General Hospital under a change to the contract the lab has with the hospital.
KGH is a part-owner of Tri-Cities Laboratory, along with Kadlec Regional Medical Center, Lourdes Health Network and Spokane's Pathology Associates Medical Laboratory.
Christensen said the shift was not related to the union negotiations and did not reflect any dissatisfaction with lab services.
"It's important to understand the relationship between Tri-Cities Laboratory and the hospital in every other way remains the same and is good," he said. "The hospitals own TCL and have control and say in how TCL operates."
He said patients should see no differences in lab services because of the switch. "The same people are going to be there doing the same thing and providing the same services."
KGH officials could not be reached for comment Friday.
