St. Michael Medical Center Professional-Technical-Clinical Support - Long Day—Disappointing Ending
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Tuesday, August 25
We came into bargaining on Tuesday, August 25, hopeful that we could make real progress toward a deal. The Employer had indicated that it was ready to get serious and work toward an agreement. Unfortunately, by the end of the day, we were disappointed by how little movement we saw on the issues that matter most to us.
Because we are currently in FMCS mediation, the discussions at the table are confidential since neither side passed a formal proposal. Instead, we exchanged “supposals”—nonbinding, hypothetical ideas used to test possible paths toward an agreement. Because of the confidentiality rules of mediation, we cannot share the specific details of those discussions.
What we can say is that the Employer’s wage position continues to fall short of what is needed. We did not see the movement we were hoping for on wages, premium pay, and important concerns around safety in the Family Birth Center. We entered the day expecting the Employer’s actions at the table to reflect its stated desire to reach a deal. Unfortunately, we ended the day still waiting to see that level of movement.
Our Bargaining Team continued working throughout the day, reviewing wage proposals classification by classification and reassessing our priorities to make sure we remain focused on the improvements that matter most to us.
We were also grateful to have one of our Union siblings from the St. Joseph Medical Center technical Bargaining Team join us at the table, share perspective from their own negotiations, and show management that we are united in our fight for a fair contract.
We started the day hopeful that we could make significant progress. We ended it disappointed, but still committed to doing everything we can to win the fair contract we deserve.
We meet with management again next week on September 3, which we anticipate will be an important bargaining session as we work to determine whether the Employer is prepared to make the movement necessary to reach a fair agreement.
“Started with high hopes, ended totally disappointed.”
— Merry Brandt-MacFann, CT Technologist
“I’ve seen glaciers negotiate faster.”
— Lara Williams-Graham, Certified Surgical Technologist
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.
