Athens Politics Nerd
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Piedmont-Athens Regional maintenance workers ask for fair contract
Posted
April 12, 2025
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118
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April 12, 2025
118
5
4.24%
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1:58Now PlayingThe International Union of Operating Engineers held a protest outside Piedmont-Athens Regional hospital in Athens, Georgia on Friday, April 11, 2025. They're calling for a contract with fair pay, benefits and improved working conditions for Piedmont maintenance workers.
You can sign their petition at athenspoliticsnerd.com/petition.
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TRANSCRIPT
The International Union of Operating Engineers protested Piedmont-Athens Regional on behalf of hospital maintenance workers on Friday. I went down there and spoke with union organizer Chris Carr.
“We’re asking for a fair contract. We’re in negotiations. These workers would like a little bit better benefits, a little bit more money. It’s not going to break this hospital at all. They just want better working conditions.”
The maintenance workers have been negotiating with Piedmont without success ever since they voted to join the union in August. As Piedmont will tell you, they are not friendly to unions. This is what Piedmont Athens-Regional CEO Michael Burnett told the maintenance workers before their vote last year.
“Piedmont is 100% union free and that’s very important to us.”
“They don’t want to negotiate, it’s as simple as that.”
Carr says that Piedmont is retaliating against workers for participating in the union, which is illegal.
“They’re changing shifts on guys, like there’s a guy been there 20 years, worked day shift his whole life, now they’re making him work night shift in the evenings. That’s against federal labor laws to do that while you’re in negotiations with a union.”
Even so, the workers are not backing down.
“These workers are standing strong. They understand what they’re out trying to do. It’s just a shame because it wouldn’t take much to fix all this. It wouldn’t take much at all.”
If you want to support the maintenance workers at Piedmont, you can sign their petition at athenspoliticsnerd.com/petition.
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