MHS Auburn Medical Center (Pro) - Back to Negotiations!

MHS Auburn Medical Center (Pro)
Back to Negotiations!

BARGAINING TEAM: Pharmacist Brent Kirshenbaum, Social Worker Marci Pindi (standing in), and Mental Health Technician Sandra Williams

Our Union Bargaining team has met will MultiCare a few times and exchanged proposals. Through commitment to the process and advocacy for coworkers, we have made some progress.

Contract Language that has been tentatively agreed to include:

• Status Review: A process for part-time Employees to have a review of their FTE if continuously working over their assigned FTE

• Evaluations: Requiring the Employer to maintain a system which provides for Employee evaluations on a probationary and annual basis

• Recall: A process the Employer must follow to reinstate any Employee who has been laid off

• Nondiscrimination: The absence or avoidance of discrimination, officially affirming a federal government policy of nondiscrimination in employment

Proposals we are still working on are:

• Staffing: Working to address critical issues related to staffing levels, workload, and patient care

• Floating: Establishing fair guidelines and restrictions for floating to other facilities

• Preceptor: Clarifying the role and responsibilities of preceptors within our workplace along with a market competitive premium

• Labor Management Committee (LMC): Establishing a committee to give workers a voice after contract negotiations is over.

Our Bargaining Team is working on other issues and will continue to focus on the above topics, as we reserve most economics proposals for later in the process. Other bargaining dates that have been confirmed include January 19, 24, 31, February 7 and 14; we will be requesting additional future bargaining dates from the Employer.

Throughout this negotiation process, we are committed to keeping everyone informed and engaged. We will schedule regular bargaining update meetings and disseminate important communications through multiple channels, including text and email.

engagement and involvement are vital

Staying informed and standing together as a union demonstrates our collective strength. It's important to remember that your unified efforts and voices have the power to shape the future of MultiCare Auburn Medical Center.

QUESTIONS? Contact Union Rep Ian Jacobson @ 206-436-6550.

Multicare Auburn Medical Center Professional - Bargaining Begins!

Bargaining Team: Pharmacist Brent Kirshenbaum, Social Worker Brittany Owen, and Mental Health Technician Ramona Strassburg (stand-in)

“I am excited about being a part of the bargaining process and to advocate for my fellow healthcare professionals.”
—Brittany Owen, Social Worker  

Your Union Bargaining Team has met with MultiCare a few times and exchanged proposals. Through their commitment to the process and advocacy for their coworkers, we have made some progress.

Contract language that has been tentatively agreed to include:

• Status Review: a process for part-time employees to have a review of their FTE if continuously working over their assigned FTE.

• Evaluations: requiring the employer to maintain a system which provides for employee evaluations on a probationary and annual basis.

• Recall: a process the employer must follow to reinstate any employee who has been laid off.

• Nondiscrimination: the absence or avoidance of discrimination, officially affirming a federal government policy of nondiscrimination in employment.

Important proposals we are still working on are:

• Staffing: working to address critical issues related to staffing levels, workload, and patient care.

• Floating: establishing fair guidelines and restrictions for floating to other facilities.

• Preceptor: clarifying the role and responsibilities of preceptors within our workplace along with a market competitive premium.

• Labor Management Committee: establishing a committee to give workers a voice after contract negotiations are over.

Our Bargaining Team is working on other issues and will continue to focus on the above issues as we reserve most economic proposals for later in the process. Other bargaining dates that have been confirmed include November 2 and 9; we will be requesting additional future bargaining dates from Management.

Throughout this negotiation process, we are committed to keeping you informed and engaged. We will schedule regular bargaining update meetings and disseminate important communications through multiple channels, including text and email.

Your engagement and involvement in this process are vital. Staying informed and standing together as a union demonstrates your collective strength. It’s important to remember that your unified efforts and voices have the power to shape the future of MultiCare Auburn Medical Center.

If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to discuss the negotiations further, please do not hesitate to reach out to your dedicated Union Representative Ian Jacobson at 206-436-6550.

MHS Auburn Medical Center (Professional) - Negotiations Begin Tomorrow!

MHS Auburn Medical Center (Professional)
Negotiations Begin Tomorrow!

BARGAINING TEAM: Pharmacist Brent Kirshenbaum, Social Worker Brittany Owen, and Mental Health Technician Sandra Williams

Our Union Bargaining team is excited to announce that negotiations with MultiCare begin tomorrow, October 19, for the first Professional contract at Auburn Medical Center! Our team has already met to review the issues and have drafted our initial proposal to present to the Employer.

Key points in the proposal include:

• Union Recognition with Successor Language: Ensuring a strong Union and ensuring our recognition remains intact in the event of an unlikely sale of AMC

• Preceptor: Clarifying the role and responsibilities of preceptors within our workplace along with a market competitive premium

• Staffing: Working to address critical issues related to staffing levels, workload, and patient care

• Floating: Establishing fair guidelines and restrictions for floating to other facilities

• Seniority: Safeguarding the principles of seniority in employment decisions such as layoff, rebids, promotions, scheduling, and much more

• Grievance Procedure: Defining a clear, fair, and effective process for addressing violations of our contract

• Labor Management Committee: Establishing a committee to give workers a voice after contract negotiations are over.

Our Bargaining Team is working on other issues, but our initial proposal will focus on the above issues as we reserve most economics proposals for later in the process. Other bargaining dates that have been confirmed include October 19, 26, 27, November 2 and 9.

Throughout this negotiation process, we are committed to keeping you informed and engaged. We will schedule regular bargaining update meetings and disseminate important communications through multiple channels, including text and email.

Engagement and involvement in this process are vital. Staying informed and standing together as a union demonstrates your collective strength. It's important to remember that your unified efforts and voices have the power to shape the future of MultiCare Auburn Medical Center.

If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to discuss the negotiations further, please reach out to Union Rep Ian Jacobson @ 206-436-6550.

MultiCare Auburn Medical Center RNs Contract Ratified

Bargaining Team: Cory Larsen, Caroline Bellinger, Kathleen Vukelich

We’re excited to announce that Nurses at Auburn Medical Center overwhelming voted to ratify their new contract yesterday! As a reminder, our new contract includes:

Unprecedented wage increases, giving Auburn Medical Center one of the highest RN wage scales in Washington State. Includes full retro pay back to August 15, 2021!

Some of the highest premiums in the region with increases to shift differential, standby pay, weekend premium, charge nurse pay, preceptor pay, and float pay.

Maintained annual bonuses for members at the top of the wage scale.

New language that forbids the Employer from forcing nurses to float to other hospitals,

Improved charge nurse language allowing nurses to object to the assignment,

And so much more!

If you have questions about your new contract, please reach out to a workplace steward or contact Union Rep Kent Tse at (206) 436-6512.

Auburn Medical Center RN - Tentative Agreement Reached—Vote Scheduled

Your Bargaining Team has reached a tentative agreement with management on a new three-year collective bargaining agreement for Registered Nurses at Auburn Medical Center. We are very excited to tell you that this agreement includes the following: 

• UNPRECEDENTED WAGE INCREASES that would give Auburn Medical Center one of the highest RN wage scales in King County.

• INCLUDES FULL RETRO PAY BACK TO AUGUST 15, 2021!

• SOME OF THE HIGHEST PREMIUMS IN THE REGION! Increases to shift differential, standby pay, weekend premium, charge nurse pay, preceptor pay, and float pay.

• Maintained annual bonuses for members at the top of the wage scale. 

• New language that forbids the employer from forcing nurses to float to other hospitals,

• Improved charge nurse language allowing nurses to object to the assignment,

• No health care premium increases next year with caps in subsequent years,

• Permanently added the Spot Bonus Incentive plan into our contract,

• And so much more!

The full details of the offer will be made available during our online vote meeting on October 25.

Auburn Medical Center (RN) Online Meeting

Monday, October 25

6:00PM

Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.

It’s extremely important that members attend the zoom meeting to get a full understanding of the employer’s offer and have your questions answered. However, voting will not take place at this meeting.

We will be voting online via “SimplyVoting” on Tuesday, October 26 from 6:00AM to 8:00PM. You will be receiving an email from UFCW 21 via “SimplyVoting” with your unique login information. 

In order to vote, everyone needs to make sure their personal email is up to date in our records. If you did not receive this announcement via email, please visit ufcw21.org/update-your-information and update your information. If you do not receive an email to vote on Tuesday October 26, then please reach out to Union Representative Kent Tse at ktse@ufcw21.org no later than 5PM on the day of the vote to provide an updated email address. 

Auburn Medical Center RNs Bargaining Update

We’ve been negotiating with MultiCare for a few months and, while significant progress has been made, we remain apart on many items. 

The major problem we’re facing is that MultiCare is trying to copy and paste the agreements we’ve recently won at their Pierce County facilities, unwilling to agree to anything different. Auburn Medical Center is a unique facility with different issues, and most importantly, in a different labor market. 

Please sign our petition demanding that Management recognizes that Auburn Medical Center nurses deserve more than a copy and paste agreement! Demanding that Management offer an economic package that will attract and retain nurses in King County not only today, but for the entire duration of our contract. 

Survey Link: bit.ly/MC-Staffing21
  
You’re Invited! Please join us for our next Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting to hear the latest from your bargaining team.

MHS Auburn Medical Center CAT Meeting
Wednesday, October 6 @ 6:30 PM

Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for Zoom details

Bargaining Team: Cory Larsen, Kathleen Vukelich, Caroline Bellinger

Auburn Medical Center RNs Bargaining Update

We met with the Employer again on September 14, and it was one of the more productive days of negotiations thus far. After expressing our frustration with Management’s constant delays, we’re pleased to report that they were ready to accept the Union’s proposal first thing in the morning.

In our proposal, we continued to push the narrative that our new contract should include a wage scale that is not only competitive today but will remain so for the entire three-year duration of the agreement. Nurses are being worked to the point of burnout because of the staffing crisis and our wage proposal would make it easier for the Employer to hire and retain staff, providing much needed relief.

We’ve also held firm on our demand that members receive some form of compensation as a result of the delays caused by Management. Our contract was originally scheduled to expire last month, which is when we should have received our wage increases. Therefore, each day that passes without an agreement is more money the Employer is pocketing that should have been added to our wages.

Your Bargaining Team will meet with Management again on Wednesday, September 22.

Join the Bargaining Team at our next virtual Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting on Monday, October 6 @ 6:30 PM to hear the latest from negotiations, have your questions answered, and learn how you can help us win a fair contract! Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for Zoom details. The direct link to join will also be emailed.