By DON McINTOSH
Dentists working for Multnomah County are starting to speak out in protest of slow progress in bargaining a second union contract. AFSCME Local 88 represents 21 dentists at seven county clinics. They unionized in 2017 and won salary increases and other gains in their first contract, which expired June 30.
Dentists at the county clinics treat some of the area’s poorest residents: Medicaid enrollees, uninsured, and homeless. A lot of dental offices won’t see those patients because they feel the government reimbursement rate is too low.
Though a typical salary under the union contract is $180,000 a year, AFSCME council representative Eben Pullman says the top-paid members in the union earn 9% less than dentists make elsewhere in the metro area. It’s not uncommon for dentists to have graduated dental school with hundreds of thousands of dollars in student debt and be shelling out $3,500 to $4,000 a month to repay those loans.
“I realize that compared to the average resident in Multnomah County, we do earn a good living,” said dentist Lillian Harewood. “It really is not about the money at this point. It’s about the quality of care and time that we have to spend with the patient.”
Dentists are concerned that the county recently increased their workload significantly. Where before they were expected to see 18 patients in a 10-hour shift, now they see 22. The problem, they say, is those visits aren’t quick exams like they would be with patients who have good teeth and good access to dental care.
“Our patients are public health patients, which means most likely, they have had very limited access to dental health care,” said dentist Melissa Brady. Still more challenging, most patients don’t speak English, so they speak through an interpreter.
“We’re making a stand for quality patient care,” Brady said. “We want to be compensated for the increased workload, but ultimately we want the time to be able to do the treatment our patients need. Shortening our time and loading us up with all of this extra patient care takes away from the individual’s dental experience.”
The two sides are still meeting to negotiate but could move to mediation as soon as September.
