KANSAS CITY, KAN. — For the past year, pharmacy technicians at the University of Kansas Health System (KU) have worked toward its organizing campaign — fighting for fair wages, safe staffing and improved working conditions.
Over a seven week period from April 1 to May 14, University of Kansas Health System pharmacy technicians participated in a mail-in election to unionize and join IAM Healthcare — a branch of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union), is an international union representing over 12,000 healthcare professionals across the U.S. and Canada, working to establish improved patient care, staffing, safe working conditions and professional practice development worldwide, according to its website — and its Pharmacy Guild.
“We want to make KU a great place to work; we believe a union can help give us a voice and a seat at the table,” KU Bell Hospital Tower Pharmacy Technician Cheyanne Barker said in an interview.
While University of Kansas Health System pharmacy technicians — including at the 39th Street, Main Campus and the Southlake Business Park locations — submitted their ballots before the deadline on May 14, after the Kansas Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) announced the pharmacists had lost the election by two votes, it was determined that 37 ballots — or over 30% of the vote — was not included when totaling the election results.
Of the 37 votes, which PERB did not count in this election included Barker, who shared she submitted her ballot by mail one month prior to the May 14 deadline.
“Obviously, it’s incredibly disappointing to not have my vote counted at that time,” she said in an interview. “We were really relying on an election that was fair, complete and accurate and that is not what we got. I’m a strong believer in voting and participating; the election was happening either way, everyone that was voting wanted to participate and 37 people were left out.”
After receiving this information from PERB on May 29, 31 of the 37 pharmacists who submitted their ballots on time, but whose votes were not included in the final total, signed and submitted affidavits to the Board. However, PERB has stated that it will follow suit of what the University of Kansas Health System decides. Though for IAM Healthcare and these pharmacy technicians, this has remained stagnant.
“KU spoke out in NPR that it’s not responsible for the mail and that it is what it is — that’s unacceptable,” IAM Healthcare Coordinator Jon Irvine said in an interview. “Both sides could agree that the ballots could be counted; Neither should have to agree to that — the board made the decision for these ballots to be mailed in.”
IAM Healthcare and the University of Kansas Health System pharmacy technicians have launched a petition — asking for 1,000 signatures — enquiring PERB to verify and recover all uncounted ballots, to count all ballots filed by eligible pharmacy technician voters, which were not previously counted and to postpone election result certification until all received ballots are counted and reviewed, according to a press release from IAM Healthcare on June 1.
“My biggest thing, regardless of the results, is that this election wasn’t fair; I sent my ballot out on April 15 and by May 14, they didn’t have it,” Barker said in an interview. “All I want is for my vote to be counted because that’s what’s fair and right.”
IAM Healthcare and the IAM Union have contacted elected officials across Missouri and Kansas for comments and support for effective action and to count ballots including Kansas Governor, Laura Kelly.
“These hardworking healthcare professionals chose to organize with IAM Healthcare because they want a voice to advocate for safe patient care and professional respect on the job. They deserve a fair opportunity to exercise their right to form a union and bargain collectively,” Kelly said in a statement. “That includes making sure every properly mailed, post-marked and received ballot is counted in the state’s representation election process.”
While Irvine shared that IAM Healthcare and the KU pharmacy technicians have already received endorsement support from the labor community, beyond participating in its petition, the best way to join IAM Healthcare and KU Pharmacy technicians in solidarity, he said, is to write letters to PERB calling for a ballot recount and to attend the rally IAM Healthcare plans to host within the coming weeks at the State Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo.
“Working with these technicians the last year and a half, KU is an outstanding medical facility with dedicated medical facilities,” Irvine said in an interview. “These technicians want to make sure they have the resources to continue to provide the best top-notch care to the community; that’s why they’re unionizing.”
IAM Healthcare and the KU pharmacy technicians held a rally at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 12 at the corner of 39th Street and Rainbow Boulevard in Kansas City, Kan.
UPDATE:
Following KU Pharmacy technicians and IAM Healthcare’s organizing efforts over the past few weeks, PERB has announced that it will include the 37 mail-in ballots — which went uncounted in the original election results — within its final recorded tally, according to a press release from IAM Healthcare on June 25.
What PERB has referred to as a United States Postal Service (USPS) infraction in its inability to deliver all casted ballots by the May 15 deadline, according to the case docket, will now allow KU Pharmacy technicians to request a court hearing, which, if granted, would prolong the ballot counting process, IAM Healthcare shared in a press release on June 25.
Julia Williams — a Kansas City native — is a reporter and digital producer for The Labor Beacon. A University of Missouri School of Journalism alumna, she previously served as the editor-in-chief of The Northeast News before joining The Labor Beacon staff.
Williams’s grandfather was a Claycomo Ford Motor Company retiree and avid UAW Local 249 supporter, allowing her to understand the union difference from a young age.
In her free time, Williams enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to see her friends and hanging out at home with her cat, Greta. She loves a good cup of coffee, seeing local, live music and shopping secondhand. With a passion for storytelling, she hopes to bring her knowledge of journalistic integrity to the Kansas City union community — giving union and labor workers a voice, while holding people in powerful positions accountable.
