ST. PETER — Union employees at the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center put on an informational picket Friday, saying administration has a lack of respect for workers and their dignity and have not kept their promises.
“There’s the safety issue with the radios routinely not working and not honoring agreements that they make,” said Ryan Cates, president of the AFSCME Local 404 union.
The union represents about half of the workers at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program and the Forensic Services program. Other professional and nursing staff are represented by other unions.
Department of Human Services Health System CEO Marshall Smith, in a statement said they do work with the unions to address concerns.
“Staff are at the heart of everything we do to care for patients and clients on our campus in St. Peter. Their work is demanding and difficult. We value their input and meet regularly with our labor unions to address staff concerns. We’re working in good faith to find solutions,” Smith said.
“Safety for staff, patients and clients is our top priority and we take deliberate steps with our labor partners to review and remedy safety concerns quickly.”
Cates said relations with management have worsened in the past year.
The union alleges there are unreliable radios for communication with no visible effort to remedy the problem, continuous changes to payroll leading to inability to rely on consistent paychecks, refusal to pay bonuses that were promised to staff, refusal to follow contractual agreements and an increase in mandatory overtime being assigned, while voluntary overtime is not being offered consistently.
Cates said he told management last week that the picket would be held. “They haven’t responded.”
He said there have been numerous attempts over the past year to work with management to address them, but they were “met with indifference.”