Lisa Jones stood outside in the rain in front of Encompass Medical Clinic’s Wornall campus on Monday. Jones came out on her lunch break, along with other employees, to join members from their union and call for higher wages for longtime employees.
Jones said she’s worked with Encompass as a medical assistant for 20 years. But she makes less than $18 an hour. She said it’s not a living wage.
“We deserve more. I feel like I deserve more,” Jones said. “Give me what I deserve for being here long.”
Workers at Encompass, a physician-owned primary care group in the greater Kansas City area, told the Kansas News Service that they’re picketing because attempts to bargain with management for higher wages have been unsuccessful. The workers have been backed by SEIU Healthcare’s Missouri and Kansas chapter for more than 20 years.
Talita Miller works at Encompass’s Lenexa clinic in the billing department. She said new hires are starting at wages that are $5 to $8 more an hour than what current employees make.
“I think at this point everybody knows it,” Miller said. “We've had more people involved in bargaining this year than we have in the last 10-and-a-half years that I've worked there.”
A spokesperson for Encompass Medical Center said they are in the process of negotiating a bargaining renewal.
“We have had several bargaining sessions, and that process continues,” Susan Stidham, chief operating officer for Encompass, said in an email to the Kansas News Service. “The bargaining table is the place to discuss these matters.”
Miller said in a bargaining meeting, management told them they aren’t concerned about long term employees.
“Because they feel that, ‘Okay if they've been there for 10, 15, 20 years, they're going to sit back and they're going to continue to take this,’” she said. “And that's in their own words.”
Stidham declined to comment on this allegation.
“Negotiations should take place at the negotiating table,” she said in an email.
Shirley Caston, an organizer for SEIU, said all the Encompass locations are understaffed.
“New people come in, they don't stay,” Caston said. “So, why wouldn't you try to give something to maintain your longevity people? Because you don't have to train them. They already know what to do.”
Monique Clark has worked at Encompass Medical Center’s Wornall campus for almost 4 years as a medical assistant. She said the turnover and short staffing puts more weight on her and other employees.
“We do a lot. We’re overworked, and we still get the job done,” Clark said. We need to have something to show that they see us and they respect what we’re doing.”
Clark said she’d also like insurance premiums for family insurance plans to come down. She said it would take at least half of her paycheck to cover insurance for herself and her two children.
Overall, Clark likes her job. But she said she makes less than $20 an hour, and as a single mom, she needs more to make ends meet.
Clark said management recently offered current employees a 1.5% raise. That would raise her wage by about 30 cents an hour, which she said isn’t enough. She hopes management understands she and other employees deserve more.
“I got to live paycheck to paycheck and I got times where I'm concerned on what I'm going to feed my kids,” Clark said. “It's not doable.”
Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga reports on health care disparities and access for the Kansas News Service. You can email her at r.shackelford@kcur.org.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
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