UNIONS SET TO BARGAIN 4 DAYS PER WEEK
As Committee Considers Extending Current Contract To Protect Worker Rights!
CWA and 1199SEIU continue fine-tuning staffing plans to propose to Kaleida. Staffing proposals for nursing departments are complete, thanks to the Clinical Staffing Committee meetings held at each site between March and early June; and we are connecting with members in the last few non-nursing departments to complete our information and round out our demands.
Upgrade presentations are scheduled for two days in July for more than two dozen job titles.
Starting next week, 1199SEIU and CWA will begin bargaining four days a week. Mondays will be added to our schedules.
Tentative Agreements: We have Tentative Agreements on Time and Attendance (Article 63), where we have changed time frames for when a tardy is considered absent. We have increased the number of call-ins for 8-hour members to bring them in line with the New York State Paid Sick Leave law. In Extended Shifts (Article 94), members who work extra time or use PTO to meet pension credit minimum hours may pre-schedule the time on a form and submit it to their supervisor – this form has been used at MFSH but will be expanded Kaleida-wide. We also have a new article outlining the provisions in the New York State Paid Sick Leave.
Still Working On It: In committee, CWA and 1199SEIU have made progress on adult site floating grids and CAPD administration (MOU 26), but have no agreement yet. Labor and Kaleida are still discussing our positions on pandemic/state of emergency language concerning the supply of PPE, frequency of breaks, and the unions’ role in negotiating terms as conditions evolve. Labor’s legal team is reviewing Kaleida’s proposed changes to the Advanced Practice Practitioner Security language (MOU 47), in which the hospital will need to arrange a new collaborating physician if a collaborating agreement is withdrawn. 1199SEIU and CWA are waiting for Kaleida’s response on about 10 proposals including Floating (Article 19), Temporary Downsizing (Article 18), and Job Bidding and Transfers (Article 53)–which they feel are tied to the staffing language that labor is finalizing.
New Article: Labor and Kaleida have each proposed a new article creating shifts shorter than 7.5 hours/day, as a way to cover breaks and lunches and meet the state’s new staffing ratio requirements. The two separate proposals differ in their approach and the length of the shifts we want to implement. 1199SEIU and CWA’s proposal ensures that all members who adopt these shifts would meet FTE requirements to utilize the 1199SEIU Training Fund and contribute to their retirement; Kaleida’s would permit a non-benefited status for some.
Contract Extension: As our one-month extension expires at the end of June, we are considering another extension while we work out economic proposals. We are still far from finished with bargaining and want to maintain contractual protections for members in the meantime.