UPDATE NO. 5 – 5/28/19
We are at the end of three months of bargaining (35 sessions), a long time at the bargaining table, but, we are making progress!
- We are starting to decrease the number of non-economic issues we have open.
- We are working on our economic package. We are hopeful that we can put an economic proposal in hands of Kaleida Health Management Bargaining Committee by Friday, May 31, 2019.
We have extended bargaining hours from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and we will be adding Thursdays to our Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule next week. We have not discussed an extension of the current contract at this point, but it is clear that we will not finish bargaining by May 31, 2019. An Extension will likely be discussed this week. Please rest assured that we will make sure your wages, benefits, and work conditions are protected during any extension of the contract.
There are several really tough topics on the bargaining table still and there are two we would like to address, Article 26 Paid Time Off and Article 63 Time and Attendance.
When we started bargaining Kaleida Management presented us with a list of issues that they wanted to address in the course of negotiations. It wasn’t a long list, but at the top was absenteeism, call-ins and personal day utilization. They presented the committee with data which they believe documents the fact that utilization of Paid Time Unscheduled (PTU) and Personal Leave Days (PLD) are very high on a daily basis from mid-October through mid-January and is particularly high from mid-December through the Holidays. The PTU includes Intermittent FMLA.
The Kaleida Health Management proposals for dealing with this issue is to limit use of PLDs to one per day, per unit, per job title, per shift from October 15 through January 15, unless a manager believes that she/he can approve more. On time and attendance, Kaleida Management is proposing that call-ins or PTUs get looked at on a rolling twelve month period, instead of a calendar year. In that scenario, members would not be starting with a clean slate at the beginning of each calendar year. We have been clear in our response on both issues and management’s proposals. THEY HAVE BEEN REJECTED! THE COMMITTEE STRONGLY BELIEVES THAT NEITHER OF THESE PROPOSALS WOULD BE RATIFIED BY OUR MEMBERSHIP.
There are a number or rumors moving through the facilities regarding negotiations and concessions that are being made especially on health insurance. There is no truth to these rumors and THERE ARE NO CONCESSIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE ON ECONOMICS, NOR AGREED TO BY THE UNIONS.
Questions? Please contact your union delegate, steward, or mobilizer.
