It’s time to keep our foot on the gas. As our support from our patients and community grows so does our bargaining power. In the final hours of bargaining today the employer made more movement than it has made in almost three months of bargaining, but it is still far from enough. After proposing only a 0.25% additional raise earlier in the week, management provided us this afternoon with wage raises that are more than double those they had previously proposed. The proposed wage raise for this year, however, is still notably less than the cost of living adjustment. The proposal also contained, for the first time, a modest bonus in comparison to other hospitals. The bonus was contingent, however, on effectively foregoing our picket next week and the hospital has refused to provide any negotiations dates next week for us to respond to or continue to work towards an agreement.
Their proposal continued to contain dramatic increases in healthcare costs. The current proposal of management nearly doubles health insurance premium contributions for part-time employees in the second and third years of the next contract. It also raises the health insurance premium contributions for full-timers in the second and third years. We don’t deserve to have our healthcare costs raised in a pandemic. Our concerns on PPE and the proposed increased attendance disciplines remain unaddressed.
Let’s keep fighting. It’s working and our time is NOW!