As you surely are aware by now, your union, Oregon Federation of Nurses and Healthcare Professionals (OFNHP), has come to a tentative agreement on a national contract with Kaiser Permanente. The highlights of that agreement can be found here. Soon you will have the opportunity to vote on ratifying this agreement.
You will be voting on whether or not to ratify our Tentative Agreements (TAs) as a whole, which means a combination of both our local TA and our national TA.
The Laboratory Professionals bargaining unit had an organized, experienced, and thoughtful bargaining group that we believe negotiated many improvements to our local contract.
So, what did we accomplish?
No take aways! Our local agreement had no financial or contractual take backs by management. Management wanted to require that Lab Pros stay in a new job for up to a year. They also wanted to get rid of the sabbatical drawing. They wanted to change float language where people could be moved from department to department without notice. And we said NO to All!
So, what did we gain?
Our financial priority throughout bargaining was to create a longevity pay step like that found in other OFNHP contracts and we succeeded!
A Longevity step with a 2.5% wage increase at 10 years of Kaiser Permanente employment will now show up on our wage scale!
We also prioritized raising differentials, especially that of swing shift, which has been below market for years. We procured the following differential increases.
- Swing shift differential rises from $1.20 to $2.20.
- Night shift differential rises from $4.00 to $4.25
- Lead differential rises from $1.00 to $1.50.
- Float differentials rises from $0.90 to $2.50.
Other gains include Improved language for scheduling and new schedule options for work groups to institute. This includes options for 7/70, 8/80 and 3/36 (12-hour shifts).
We clarified seniority language that protects and prioritizes the seniority of Lab Pros. This includes a change to the MLT to MT process and the seniority of people who leave the Lab Pro BU to later return. Management also agreed to review the seniority list twice a year to insure we have the correct information.
And finally, we strengthened emergency overtime language and reinforced the policy that these should only be used in cases of real emergencies.
General contract language clean up and review of LOUs is still in the process.