Meeting again today, deal could be close.

We’re meeting again today, and hopefully this will be the last meeting. Most of our issues have been dealt with, and if they haven’t actually been signed off as tentative agreements, they’re about to be.

There are two big issues—some might call them the biggest—that we hope to finish today: sick leave and wages. We’ve already made our proposals to management, and hopefully we’re going to hear back from them. If we’re not too far apart on those two things, the deal could get done today.

Breaking news regarding shift differentials!

This just in: management has just withdrawn their proposal to not pay shift differentials for sick leave/jury duty/vacation/bereavement leave. This is a major breakthrough—this was the largest take-away on the table—and really serves to move us forward to a deal. They are holding to their desire not to pay shift differential for on-call pay, but that’s really peanuts compared to the other shift differential proposal. This is a huge victory. Stay tuned for more updates as they happen.

Closing in on a deal....but not quite yet.

Today (October 14) is the last scheduled day of bargaining, and I don’t think it will be the enough. Today we don’t expect to get to a final deal that we can bring to the members. Future bargaining dates are coming down the pipe, but nothing’s been set yet. The proposed elimination of daily overtime is off the table. The time limit on getting monetary awards from grievances has been doubled, from 60 days to 120 days. We’re very close to implementing some major streamlining measures in the grievance process itself. We finally put across our wage proposal, and are waiting to hear back from management on that. Sick leave is still being hashed out. There’s no question, however, that whatever we come away with will be better than what we currently have; the question is just how much or how little improvement we’ll get. The proposals range from somewhat radical change (e.g., converting to PTO) to incremental change (e.g., increasing the intermittent bank/accrual above what it currently is). Still on the table are management’s proposal to authorize subcontracting out bargaining unit jobs (which we are firmly against), and elimination of shift differential for sick leave/vacation/bereavement/jury duty/education leave (which we are firmly against). Our proposal to bring in the SEIU/UHW Education Fund, which should be a no-brainer, is still stalled, in large part because Jeanette Louden-Corbett remains out on sick leave. We’ve gotten very close on putting together a Low Census procedure (i.e., a call-off program) that is fair and effective. We’ve also modified the policies on scheduling and disciplining SANs that is a definite improvement from the existing language. A huge, HUGE proposal that is definitely going to happen is the establishment of Patient Care Committees. Each nursing area will have a committee that will meet regularly, including care providers and management, and work collaboratively to identify and solve problems in the units. Many other hospitals have these, and they generally have the effect of changing the culture of the hospital environment (for the better). That’s been one of our mantras during the entire bargaining process. Just like ACMC management has been saying, we also want to be “The Provider of Choice,” and “The Employer of Choice,” and our proposals reflect that. We’ve also been saying that we want to move away from ACMC having “a culture of punishment.” Although it’s tough to make the idea sound sexy, patient care committees are a big, big deal, provided both sides commit to making it happen. If we can get the rest of the “little” issues off the table, it will enable us to focus on the “big” issues: wages and sick leave. And hopefully we’ll get it done sooner rather than later. Stay tuned.

[A note from Amy R-H, guest blogger] A brief summary of yesterday’s (Thursday, October 6) RN negotiations.  It appears that ACMC’s renewed focus on takeaways is revolving around these inflammatory issues: No shift differential for “unworked hours.” This includes vacation, sick, jury, bereavement, in lieu of time.… No daily overtime. That means no overtime until you reach the threshold of 40 hours per week of worked hours (unworked hours wouldn’t be added in; see above). For example, say your schedule is three 12-hour shifts a week.  If you work 13 hours each day, that last hour would be straight time, because three days x 13 hours = 39 hours for the week. Another example: if one day you work 15 hours, but the other two are 12 hours each, that again equals 39 hours (and no overtime for the 15-hour day). Delete the ACERA side letter regarding enrolling part-timers. Currently, the MOU allows for part-time employees to temporarily go full-time to become eligible for enrollment in ACERA (Alameda County Employee Retirement Association, which is our defined benefit retirement plan). Management wants to eliminate this. We are currently waiting for ACMC to “refine” their proposals regarding these wacky issues: Requiring new nurses to work three weekends a month (instead of two). They’re revising their proposal regarding withholding Holiday Pay if we “call off” (sick time) on a day(s) preceding, upon, or following a holiday. They have indicated they have one more proposal that they have not put across the table yet. [Ed. we’re calling this “The October Surprise”] While speculating on this kind of thing is always tricky, we have a gut feeling that this will be about further reducing access to ACERA for new employees. Even if it isn’t, it will certainly be a takeaway. By contrast assure you that all of our (SEIU) proposals were about fixing broken or unfair systems: Improving the Sick Leave banks (ratio of intermittent to extended), lifting caps, easing access to extended bank, etc. ACMC proposed a “Mandatory Call-Off” (i.e., being sent home) procedure for low census days – we’ve countered with a voluntary procedure (similar to what already exists). No further erosion of health benefits (and no increase in our premium contribution rate). Fair job posting & bidding procedures. At this point, ACMC has not responded to our proposal to change and improve our current antiquated step progression process. Our proposal addresses the unfortunate pay scale variance for nurses working in different departments and different schedules (8 hr vs. 12 hr).  Also, no real discussion about pay increases (for the course of this MOU, which is likely three years) has happened yet.  Next week will bring these issues further into focus.  We may call upon you to SHOW UP and represent – we’ll let you know. Thanks, Amy R-H

And now we begin......end game.

[Special Large Print Edition, by popular request]

Five bargaining sessions left. We’re at the table, reviewing our progress on our proposals. Things are still kind of slow, progress-wise. Management’s last proposals are, to say the least, unacceptable. They want to eliminate daily overtime, open up the hospital to subcontracting, and they oppose making the two contracts start and end on the same dates (the legal term is “co-terminus,” and it would give both chapters more leverage in negotiations). They propose barely, BARELY, revising sick leave. And wages are still in limbo.

On the plus side, we continue to drive the debate. Management is in a reactive stance against us, and this is a stark contrast against my experience in previous negotiations.

At this point, every member needs to be aware of what we want, and what we’re willing to stand up for. We’re making moves to make the union presence more visible in the medical center over the coming week.

Stay tuned for more.