St. Michael Medical Center Professional-Technical-Clinical Support Bargaining Update
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Today, we met with the Employer, and their response to our latest proposal was incredibly disappointing, especially on economics.
The Employer made only a minimal movement on wages. Even more concerning, they REJECTED EVERY premium pay increase proposed by the Union. This rejection was so extreme that they even rejected basic cleanup language on certification pay that did not include any substantive change and would not have created any additional cost for the Employer.
As of today, the Employer is offering only:
2.50% in year one
2.50% in year two
2.25% in year three
No Union contract at any hospital in the region has agreed to wage increases anywhere close to this low. The Employer is also refusing to provide any additional market increases for any classification, despite the fact that many SMMC classifications are not competitive with the market, and will fall further behind when MultiCare negotiates their Union contracts again next year.
While we often disagree with the Employer about how “market” should be defined (the Union believes King County must be included, while the Employer seems to limit its comparison to Kitsap and Pierce Counties) the Employer’s proposal does not come close to being competitive under any reasonable definition of market rates.
This proposal will not help recruit or retain the skilled staff needed to keep the hospital running and our community safe. It will not address the staffing shortages that many departments continue to face. And frankly, this feels different from more recent bargains, where the Employer at least attempted to remain competitive. This time, they appear to be ignoring the facts more than ever before.
That is deeply concerning, especially since the employer is behaving the same to our Union siblings at St. Joseph Medical Center.
We need to be prepared that this will not be easy. This is going to take a fight. We will need to show the Employer that SMMC workers are serious about keeping our hospital competitive and protecting the standards our patients and coworkers depend on.
To learn more about how we can fight for a fair contract, please join us at the next CAT Meeting on July 1 at 4:00 PM, where we will discuss the next steps in our bargaining campaign and how we can engage our coworkers to stand together in solidarity and push the Employer to return to the table with a serious proposal that addresses our needs.
We meet again with the Employer on June 25, July 7, and July 16.
“They can spend tons of money donating to Seattle Sports franchises like the Seahawks, Mariners, and Kraken, but can’t give a fair wage to their workers.” -Rob Shauger
Our Union Bargaining Team: Robel Haile, Clinical Pharmacist; Bryson Andrews, ED Tech; Olivia Almeida, Respiratory Therapist; Merry Brandt-MacFann, CT Technologist; Lara Williams-Graham, Certified Surgical Technologist; Angela Roberson, EP Technologist; Rob Shauger, CNA
