Contract negotiations continue between the White Bird Clinic and staff members of the CAHOOTS and HOOTS crisis intervention programs.
The negotiations started in February, with unionization efforts being supported by Teamsters Local 206.
Chelsea Swift is with the labor union, and a CAHOOTS medic.
“We are nearing towards the heavy hitters, which is that we are still most focused on getting ourselves a living wage commensurate with our first responder partners like police and fire,” said Swift. “Their careers are designed to be 20 years because they have a great pension. Currently CAHOOTS and HOOTS has no retirement plan or pension, so these are the items that we are spending our efforts on right now at the table.”
Swift said the formation of a union and ratified contract would be historic for both White Bird and the CAHOOTS and HOOTS programs.
Jeremy Gates, the interim executive director of White Bird, said in an email to KLCC that he can’t comment on the current contract negotiations. But he adds that they are working with the bargaining unit in good faith and making progress towards ratifying a contract.
CAHOOTS stands for Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets, and is a mobile crisis intervention service launched in 1989. It’s been highlighted as an alternative to police intervention in mental health crises and substance abuse scenarios.
HOOTS (Helping Out Our Teens in Schools) is a counseling service for students dealing with mental health challenges. It serves high schools and charter schools in the Eugene-Springfield area.
