Language Interpreters Picket MaineHealth, Demand Management Address Recruitment & Retention Issues

Over 15 months into their fight for a first contract, medical interpreters at MaineHealth and supporters took to the streets of Portland last Friday for an informational picket outside the healthcare conglomerate’s flagship hospital, Maine Medical Center. They demanded MaineHealth management address their recruitment and retention concerns that include low pay and the need for financial incentives for education and certification.

"We, the MaineHealth Interpreters, want to be heard, understood and respected, just like our patients and providers," said Eva Chen, a medical interpreter II for MaineHealth.  

In 2023 the medical interpreters voted to form a union, United Maine Health Interpreters, as part of the Maine Service Employees Association, Local 1989 of the Service Employees International Union, after MaineHealth cut most of the workers’ wages, leaving their pay significantly below that of other interpreters in Maine both in their starting wage and for experienced interpreters. Since then, MaineHealth has been making it harder for the interpreters to have fair, consistent schedules.

The interpreters have been in contract negotiations with MaineHealth for over 15 months. While the interpreters’ bargaining team says it has made significant progress in the negotiations, they also said their employer, MaineHealth, has not yet put forth a wage proposal satisfactory to them.  

Community members also joined the informational picket in support, and the Maine Med Nurses wrote a letter in support of interpreters.

“As nurses at Maine Med, we see first-hand the critical importance of our in-person interpreters. They are highly skilled professionals who support our patients that do not speak English as a first language. As such, in-person interpreters are the literal voices of these patients, and simultaneously the voices of the patients' doctors, therapists, and of course, their nurses,” states a letter signed by 100 registered nurses at Maine Medical Center. “Just like the nurses, in-person interpreters are there for patients in happy times, like the birth of a child; and in difficult times, like when they must deliver a diagnosis of a terminal disease to a patient and their family. And so, in-person interpreters deserve the dignity and security of a generous union contract.”

The interpreters’ contract negotiations with MaineHealth have proven difficult. In December 2023, MaineHealth management announced it would deny the interpreters the standard merit-pay increase awarded to other MaineHealth employees. The interpreters subsequently filed a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) charge on March 7, 2024, arguing that “employees are eligible for the (merit-pay) program if hired before December 31 and if they have successfully completed their six-month review.”  

In September 2024, MaineHealth agreed to a settlement and reinstated the interpreters merit pay retroactively to Jan. 7, 2024. The settlement agreement also includes a requirement that, in the event that MaineHealth has not negotiated wage increases for the medical interpreters by January 2025, they also will receive merit increases in 2025.

The interpreters said several critical issues remain on the bargaining table. Their priorities include: a higher and more competitive minimum wage in order to recruit skilled interpreters with experience and to raise up those who are currently the most underpaid; the establishment of incentives and additional pay for education and certification; and longevity pay to retain trained and experienced staff and address wage inequities.

Another NLRB charge by the interpreters was filed in September regarding MaineHealth’s retaliatory treatment of an interpreter who has been active in the formation of the bargaining unit and negotiation of the initial collective bargaining agreement. This retaliatory treatment included reducing their call-out opportunities and reducing the current interpreter’s hours by seeking to hire another interpreter. The alleged mistreatment has continued and the NLRB charge is still pending.

The medical interpreters at MaineHealth are essential for non-English-speaking patients and are instrumental in providing healthcare equity to those who utilize MaineHealth services. The interpreters translate and interpret vital information and also serve as cultural brokers for patients navigating the healthcare system.