Optum Care, Inc. (The Everett Clinic) - Bargaining Update #2
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On Wednesday, January 21, our Bargaining Team representing the newly unionized workers at Optum Care, Inc met with management for our second session of contract negotiations.
Similar to our initial bargaining day on December 15, Wednesday's session was held virtually with the Employer (our team met together in-person), and was also similar in the number of joint-session meetings and number of proposals exchanged throughout the day. Overall, this resulted in tentative agreements* on nearly 15 individual sections of our Contract! (*A tentative agreement represents mutually aligned language between management and your Union's Bargaining Team—which will be the version of the contract article you will later vote on!)
Tentative Agreements So Far Include:
Your rights to Union seniority, which factors into internal promotions, scheduling of time-off, and your rights in a workforce reduction or layoff.
A structured Labor-Management Committee, a regularly occurring meeting between management and representatives from the Union which aims to foster improved communication during the term of our contract, and assist in resolving workplace issues that come up while the CBA is in effect.
A provision which helps future-proof the contract when, in the circumstance that a change in state or federal law conflicts with any particular article(s)—unaffected sections remain unchanged and in full force and effect, and the parties then re-enter limited negotiations to secure a replacement for the affected section.
While we did not reach tentative agreements just yet on a few of the other articles we exchanged back and forth on the 21st, we again found ourselves positively surprised at the thorough questions and engagement in our proposals we saw from management, and we are nearly at agreement on the equal opportunity language we've proposed, outlining an inclusive workplace culture and related worker protections.
We are looking forward to continuing these discussions and more at our next scheduled bargaining dates—which are in-person and back-to-back on February 10 and 11.
"Considering what we've been able to get done on Zoom—we're looking forward to getting a lot done in-person next time!"
— Elizabeth Reece, CNA
Bargaining Team: Janis Laffin, RN; Molly Hugo, RN; Ashley Seidelman, Patient Care Coordinator; Elizabeth Reece, Certified Medical Assistant
