VMFH St. Joseph Medical Center (Technical)
Bargaining Continues

Our Union Bargaining Team met with St. Joseph Medical Center Management again on March 2, 17, 24, 28 and 30 to continue negotiations for our successor contract.

We continue to make remarkable progress this bargaining cycle with many important issues resolved in record time. Tentative agreements include improved language on:

• Union Rep access to the medical center

• New hire orientation (NEO)

• Preceptor

• Discipline / personnel files

• Donning & doffing

• Layoff

• Low Census

• Shift differential

• Certification pay

• Bereavement leave

• Grievance

• Successorship

• And much more!

However, we have yet to reach an agreement on wages, healthcare, standby/call, and other differentials. Wages are the biggest hold up because we are working on designing an entirely new wage scale that eliminates ghost steps (years with a 0% increase) and enables members to get to the top of the wage scale earlier in their career.

While the Employer has agreed conceptually to our proposal, we remain apart on the scale cadence (increases between steps, how members progress up the scale). There are significant implications with the proposed changes to our wage scale and our Bargaining Team wants to thoughtfully review each proposal from the Employer to ensure that everyone will receive a fair market competitive wage increase.

While we hoped to have an agreement before contract expiration (April 1), the complexities of the proposed scale changes have caused necessary delays in the process. In the meantime, we have signed a contract extension agreement through the end of this month to ensure that all our contractual benefits and protections continue as we move forward with negotiations.

We also continued to discuss the concerning developments regarding the mass exodus of anesthesiologist and the impact on our members ability to work. Unfortunately, we have not received any firm answers from the Employer on how this issue will be resolved. Our Bargaining Team will continue challenging Management on this issue until we have the answers we need.

We are scheduled to meet with the Employer again tomorrow for a marathon session. It is possible that we’ll have a tentative agreement and subsequent vote after tomorrow, however, that will only happen if the offer on the table meets the needs of all bargaining unit members.

“We are fighting to ensure that EVERY member will receive a fair wage increase with our new contract!”

—St. Joseph Medical Center Bargaining Team: Vanessa Giles (Surgical Tech), Kat Wood (Radiology Tech), Michelle Gilmore (Respiratory Therapist), Monica DeWitt (Pharmacy Tech), Sissy Allison (Surgical Tech)