Your bargaining team kicked off negotiations with management on September 17 and then continued on September 27 and October 13.
At this early stage in negotiations our proposals have primarily focused on non-economic items, with the hope that we can resolve the less-contentious issues before wages dominate the conversation. Our initial proposals addressed issues such as floating, discipline, Extended Illness Bank (EIB)/Paid Time Off (PTO) improvements, and more.
In the meantime, your bargaining team has been working on a comprehensive market analysis of wages in the region, including other MultiCare facilities such as Tacoma General, as we prepare to make our initial wage proposal in the coming weeks.
However, management surprised the team on October 13 by making a proposal to significantly change our healthcare premiums. Recognizing that employees at Capitol Medical Center are paying significantly more for healthcare than other MultiCare units, management proposed to align our premium costs to what employees are paying at other facilities.
The proposed changes to premium rates would include significant savings, with many saving hundreds of dollars every month. In fact, the employee only option on the My Connected Care plan would have no premium, costing the employee absolutely nothing in premium costs! The only plan that would experience a slight increase in costs would be the High Deductible Plan (HDHP), and that is because a new Health Savings Account (HSA) benefit would be added to the plan with the employer contributing annually to the account.
After extensively reviewing the proposal, your bargaining team has agreed to the changes, which will go into effect starting January 2022. All other details of your benefits plans will remain unchanged (deductibles, co-pays, out of pocket maximums, etc.). The agreed upon changes will be reflected during open enrollment next month, with the option to change your plan by November 30 for plan year 2022.
Changes in healthcare premiums will also apply to the Nurses’ contract, however, since they are not in open contract negotiations they will soon conduct a special membership vote to approve the changes. The technical/service unit will vote when we’ve reached a tentative agreement on the entire contract.
Your bargaining team will meet with management again on October 20, 25 and November 1, 10, 17. We have signed an extension agreement to ensure all benefits and protections of our contract remain in place as we continue negotiations for a successor agreement.
“We’re optimistic as MultiCare has taken a more collaborative approach to negotiations compared to our past employers.”
Our Bargaining Team: Adam Swigart, Julie Hinchcliff, Maureen Ciglia
