April 29th
The Tech bargaining team had a productive session today! We were able to secure four Tentative Agreements (TAs). The first three are simple contract cleanups; we agreed to remove Article 5 H and Appendix B (13-Hour Weekend Ortho Techs at BKMO) because they are no longer relevant, and we all agreed to modernize the language in 7A to reflect electronic job postings instead of physical bulletin boards.
Our biggest success today was something we've been trying to accomplish for the last three bargaining rounds, and we did it! We have a Tentative Agreement to add the word “Unforeseen” to our 5G Temporary Reassignment language! Management has been abusing this article for years to force employees to float all over the region, changing their schedules, their commutes, and disrupting clinics all over the area, instead of providing sufficient staff to provide the patient care we expect to provide. With the addition of this word, we can limit the frequency this article is used, and bring it back to its intended use to cover actual emergencies (ie: pandemics, floods, fires, system outages, etc) instead of forcing members to float last-minute to cover open shifts that are known well in advance.
We also finalized interests from both Management and Labor. Labor shared comprehensive wage studies that outlined where our Techs are hurting most. Several other proposals were shared on both sides, and we were able to start having real, in-depth discussions about the issues the Techs are seeing in the workplace every day. We heard about concerns from management, and we were able to determine that there is a shared interest in resolving these concerns. We are confident that we can make progress in finding ways to address these issues that will satisfy both sides.
April 15th
Management started with countering labor’s proposal regarding Article 5 language. We want to make sure our members are not being reassigned to another work location on a regular basis due to staffing deficiencies or lack of planning and backfill. Labor is interested in strengthening this language in order to provide work stability, increase retention of new hires, and decrease the amount of grievances filed due to violations by management. Management’s counter-proposal redlined most of our language changes, and after listening to their concerns and experiences, we proposed another version. Management will consider and discuss at the next session.
Labor then presented two proposals: to align the Tech Bargaining Unit contract dates with other bargaining units, which gives us the right to strike with the other units if we all chose to do so, and to officially accept a generic template for a Career Ladder program that would provide incentives for all techs for education and engagement. Management asked clarifying questions, then committed to discussing the numbers and financial impact in order to continue the discussion next session.
Next, management submitted a proposal regarding an amount of time an employee should be in a job code before moving to another internal position, in an interest to reduce turnover, expense, and wasted training time. Labor discussed it in a caucus, and reported to management that since this isn’t a subject that has been discussed with our membership, we first need to hear the thoughts of the tech group stakeholders before committing to a Tentative Agreement (TA). We will tentatively plan to answer next session.
Finally, management presented a list of LOU’s with an interest in reviewing them for sunsetting. We will be reviewing these periodically.
Before the final caucus of the day, we set an agenda for the next session with the express hopes to be able to reach some tentative agreements. Make sure to RSVP if you want to attend upcoming sessions as an observer.
April 1st and 2nd
We finished the first two days of bargaining. So far, we feel that management is working in
Partnership with us, but we still have a long way to go to get what we need for our Bargaining Unit.
On Day One we were able to share high level interests on both sides. There were several interests that were aligned between management and labor. Staffing, with a focus on retention and recruitment, remains our top priority, and we made it clear to Kaiser that they will have to open their wallets to achieve this. We were able to reach a Tentative Agreement (TA) for a more inclusive contract that contains gender neutral contract language.
On Day Two, we did deeper dives into interests from labor and management. Proposals were shared and countered. We feel like good progress is being made.