Butler Memorial med techs authorize 5-day strike

Hundreds of medical technicians at Butler Memorial Hospital voted Friday to go on strike for five days starting May 19, following nine months of stalled contract negotiations.

Some 235 surgical techs, respiratory therapists and other unionized healthcare workers voted by a margin of 92% to give Butler's corporate parent, Independence Health System, the required 10-day notice for the planned walkout.

The notice is required by the National Labor Relations Board; the techs are represented by Plymouth Meeting-based Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses & Allied Professionals.

A walkout by the techs would also prompt 500 registered nurses at Butler, also represented by PASNAP, to picket the hospital in support, the union said.

The union said the medical staff was frustrated with management proposals they believe would undermine patient care and worsen staff retention.

"The community depends on us to provide care for their families," CT technician and bargaining committee member Tara Erskine said in a prepared statement. "All we're asking of IHS is that they value both care for the community and those of us providing that care."

IHS spokeswoman Kelley Skoloda was not immediately available for comment.

If a strike occurs, the techs will walk off the job at 6 a.m. May 19 and return to work May 24.

Wages, minimum staffing requirements and a cap on healthcare costs are among the outstanding issues.

Medical technicians at Butler voted for union representation in May 2025 and began contract bargaining a short time later. There was no immediate word on future negotiating sessions.

Butler is among five IHS hospitals that will affiliate with Morgantown-based WVU Medicine later this year.

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