New Jersey imaging centers could soon face technologist strike
A group of technologists and tech aides in New Jersey have elected to go on strike following failed negotiations pertaining to the group’s first union contract.
The group includes around 45 ImageCare workers in Sussex County, New Jersey. The union announced the vote Nov. 6, nearly two years after workers began seeking an initial agreement with the diagnostic imaging provider. Negotiations have centered on wages and the affordability of employee healthcare benefits, with workers also raising concerns about working conditions and their ability to support patient care.
“We are healthcare workers, but we can’t even afford the healthcare plan offered through our employer,” Alyssa Perry, an ImageCare employee and Local 125 member, which represents ImageCare's technologists and technologist aides, told local news outlets.
Perry added that employees are prepared to strike if necessary to reach an agreement addressing their concerns.
Union representatives accused the company of delaying negotiations and making inadequate contract offers. Paxton Ryan, president of Local 125, said workers have faced delays and what he characterized as insulting offers during the bargaining process.
"After nearly two years of fighting for a fair first Teamsters contract, our members said enough is enough," Ryan added in a news release. "The company's continued bad faith bargaining and refusal to offer a contract that recognizes our members' worth left us no choice but to strike. Teamsters will stand firm until the company addresses its workers' concerns."
The strike authorization gives union leadership the ability to call a walkout but does not mean a strike has been scheduled or that employees have stopped working. Negotiations over the contract remain ongoing.
ImageCare Radiology offers diagnostic imaging services at 23 centers across northern and central New Jersey. Six of those centers are located in Sussex County and would be directly impacted by a staff strike.
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In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.