MultiCare Auburn Medical Center Professionals Bargaining Update
Our Union Bargaining Team: Ramona Strassburg, Mental Health Technician; Brent Kirshenbaum, Pharmacist; Marci Pindi, Social Worker.
Our Auburn Medical Center Professionals union Bargaining Team met with Management on Friday, August 2, ready to work hard, and get to an agreement on strong first union contract with MultiCare.
We started the day feeling like today might just be the day that we get to a final deal with our Employer after many long months of negotiations. Following our previous bargaining date (July 17)- Both parties made notable progress towards securing a deal, and it felt like our priorities were really being listened to by MultiCare. However, our feelings changed once it became clear that this was only partially true.
As we work through the remaining open Articles of our contract, one of our highest priorities remains how we are all placed on the union wage scale. Through discussions with our coworkers, which we later brought to the table with management, affording credit for our years of experience in our jobs appears to be the most equitable approach. In a few ways, this was heard by management, who responded by introducing language which would credit us with our experience in terms of placement on the wage scale- however, there was a glaring problem: management would only agree to do so if it meant that some of our coworkers might experience a wage decrease as a result. This strikes a stark difference between the language we’ve held consistently to- which is that nobody will see a decrease to their wages as a result.
Our team spent quite a while looking over the implications of language such as this; and on one hand it ensures wage increases for some of us who have a wealth of experience in their job; on the other hand, we could not accept anything that might lead to any wage reductions, even by a penny, for any coworker.
Following these conversations with management, your bargaining team worked to reshape our approach to make sure that whatever wages result from this bargain benefit all of us.
We also took some time to think back on meetings we’ve held with our union siblings regarding this bargain; what we’ve heard more and more each time we meet is that our coworkers are ready to support us- and ready to stand together to take action!