May 26 - Bargaining Update

We have seven tentative agreements to report this week!

• All School Health Services Employees (Article 80) may now do their jobs remotely when student instruction moves online, provided there is work to do – yes, including Medical Assistants – and spring break PTO is not to exceed five days.
• We have a brand-new Memorandum of Understanding for staff who wear lead aprons at work, addressing how they will be provided or assigned, and method and frequency of checks.
• OCH OR holiday staffing (MOU #5) sets day shift levels at two RNs and two surgical techs for holidays that fall on weekends.
• In Recognition (Article 3), the unions have backed away from adding Clinical Documentation Specialists and Auto Replenishment to the list of union job titles.
• In Progressive Discipline (Article 62), members must now be notified of any delayed or pending disciplines within 30 days of the incident or its discovery, and the reason for the delay. We agreed to one 30-day extension period. If discipline is not addressed with the member within the 60 days, the member will not be disciplined.
• When there are open shifts on a pre-posted schedule (Article 15, Hours of Work and Work Schedules) they must be offered first to the short-staffed unit/department, then to members within the job title, and then to members in other job titles, still following seniority order. We have also clarified the shift-to-shift staff shortage language, and if nobody has signed up on the availability list Kaleida may use OneCall/Robocalls or Kronos to seek staff willing to come in. The unions must be notified of any proposed changes in the method of notification and the plan to notify and educate members of these changes.
• For departments that use On-Call Scheduling (Article 21), members may now report for duty eight hours after finishing the on-call shift. If downsizing is offered, the decision to have the member take call for the remainder of the shift remains at management’s discretion.

Time and Attendance - In bargaining, CWA and 1199SEIU continue discussing Time and Attendance (Article 63). Kaleida is still pushing for a rolling 12-month calendar for tardy disciplines, not the current three months, which we feel will put many members into a disciplinary spiral they’re unlikely to escape. We continue to discuss our position, here.

Extended Shifts (Article 94) is also still being negotiated. For members who need additional hours beyond what they’re scheduled each pay period to make up their pension contribution, 1199SEIU and CWA have proposed a new form (similar to what’s in use at MFSH) allowing staff to add a minimum of 30 minutes, up to a maximum of 6 hours, or enough PTO to bring them to 75 hours for the pay period; hospital administration has not responded yet. Our discussions so far lead us to believe Kaleida wants to erode these shifts, and CWA and 1199SEIU are unwilling to budge.