MultiCare Bargaining Update Progress at Last
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“We’re feeling more optimistic than we were a few weeks ago”
Bargaining Team: Alexis Dotts, Glen Steele, Gregg Barney, Heidi Strub, Jamie Fenton, Julianna Van Enk, Kelly Gusman, Kurtis Chaffin, Patricia Brown, Ryan Boyd, Sammy Bainivalu, Teri Kruse, Wanda Rodriguez-Ramos, Yvette Broeckel.
After months of a virtual statement, we finally started the mediation process on May 25.
What is mediation? Mediation is when the Union and Employer have reached a point when little progress is being made, the parties have the option to bring in a neutral third-party mediator to help move things along. The federal government provides a free meditation service (FMCS) that works exclusively on union-employer disputes and has assigned a mediator to help us reach a deal with MultiCare. The role of the mediator is to help the parties better understand the other’s point of view and to push both sides towards an agreement.
So far it’s working. While we are still far apart, we have seen the most significant movement from the employer we have seen since we started in January. The mediator seems to have been doing a good job of forcing the employer to hear and understand our concerns. We noticed the most movement on economics with the employer being more resistant to our non-economic proposals. Our action last month, and the outpouring of community support since then, has certainly been a continuing factor to the movement.
This is very encouraging news, but don’t celebrate just yet. We still have many outstanding issues to resolve (staffing, PTO, wage premiums, floating, preceptor pay, seniority, extra shifts, etc) before we can reach a deal. And while the employer has put more money on the table, we are still worlds apart on our wage proposals.
Keep applying pressure on MultiCare, join the Rally @ the Park on June 30 at 3:30PM at Wright Park (Near Tacoma General Hospital). We already have many community leaders who have pledged to join us again at this action.
