Washington Hospital and SEIU have reached a Tentative Agreement on a new, 3-year contract, following negotiations on a new labor contract.  SEIU has announced it will hold a contract ratification on September 15, 16, and 17, 2020, which we encourage members to support.

A summary of the key terms of the Tentative Agreement is available by clicking here.  We believe the wage increase in the Tentative Agreement represents a fair economic proposal. 

In late March, and in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington Hospital and SEIU agreed that it was in everyone’s best interests to expedite negotiations in order to avoid the lengthy negotiations of the past, which have often taken many months to complete.

As a result of this mutual understanding, Washington Hospital and SEIU representatives met on three occasions in June to negotiate the terms of a new labor contract.  During these negotiations, the Hospital and SEIU representatives expressed their intent to reach a fair and fast resolution with a focus on wages, so that our employees would not have to wait for lengthy negotiations to conclude and would have some welcomed certainty during times of significant uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington Hospital and SEIU reached a tentative agreement during these abbreviated negotiations on June 9, 2020.  SEIU held a contract ratification the week of June 25^th.  Unfortunately, the members did not ratify a new contract based on the terms tentatively agreed to by the Hospital and SEIU in June.

As a result, Washington Hospital and SEIU immediately resumed negotiations, starting on July 9, 2020.  During these resumed negotiations, the Hospital and SEIU again remained committed to a focus on wages in addition to discussion of issues and concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Hospital and SEIU reached a new Tentative Agreement on August 31, 2020.

We believe the wage increase in the Tentative Agreement represents a fair economic proposal. The Hospital’s financial position is publicly available and demonstrates the significant operating losses and increased expenses that the Hospital continues to suffer as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  While we have started to resume services that were suspended early in the pandemic, we know that COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon.  Washington Hospital Healthcare System is continuing to work through pandemic-related issues that is creating a new “normal” for everyone involved which will have significant long-term impacts to the Healthcare System and the healthcare industry in general.

This Tentative Agreement is consistent with terms reached with other employee groups at Washington Hospital and will secure a 3-year contract for the Hospital and SEIU bargaining unit employees.

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TERMS OF TENTATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN WASHINGTON HOSPITAL AND SEIU UNITED HEALTHCARE WORKERS – WEST

The Parties have reached a tentative agreement, subject to ratification by the membership and ratification by the Board of Directors of Washington Hospital, on the following terms for a new Memorandum of Understanding between the Parties for the period of July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023:

Article 3. Association Membership – The Parties tentatively agree to replace the current Articles 3 and 4 with a single Article 3 that conforms the contract to be accordance with the Janus law.

Article 7. Employee Rules – The Parties tentatively agreed to include progressive discipline within the body of this provision.  The following language was also added: 

“The Hospital shall use a process of progressive discipline which includes verbal warnings, written warnings, suspension and/or termination.”

Wages – Across the Board (ATB) Increases to Their Base Rate of Pay As Follows:

All increases would be effective the first pay period on or after the specified dates below:

• 1.5% ATB increase the first pay period beginning on or after July 1, 2020
• 1.25% ATB increase the first pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2021
• 1.5% ATB increase the first pay period beginning on or after July 1, 2021
• 1.5% ATB increase the first pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2022
• 3% ATB increase the first pay period beginning on or after July 1, 2022

Article 8 – Preceptor Pay – Agreed to add Respiratory Care Practitioner to the list of job classifications eligible to perform precepting and be paid the $2.50 per hour preceptor premium.

Article 10. Special Duty Differential – Add the statement “Employees with the job title Washer Operator will be paid the Heavy Duty Differential.”   This differential is $2.50/hour.

Article 26. Seniority – The Parties tentatively agreed to update the language in the seniority clause for the awarding of position vacancies to include per diem employees from within the department first, then to include full-time, part-time and per diem employees from the facility.  

Article 37. Term – The Parties tentatively agree to a 3-year term of the MOU from July 1, 2020 to June 30 2023.

Appendix H. Per Diem Availability Requirements – The Parties tentatively agree to current contract language subject to the Parties’ agreement to meet and confer on department specific issues.

Spousal Coverage for Hospital Health Plans – The Parties tentatively agreed to add the language regarding a Spousal Waiver Credit of $70/pay period.

Side Letter re: Pandemic Proposal – The Parties tentatively agreed to a side letter regarding the hospital’s response to a pandemic specifically how information is disseminated and the availability and distribution of PPE.

Ratification.  The Union will be voting to ratify the contract on September 15, 16, and 17.  

SEIU has announced it will hold a virtual contract ratification vote on Thursday June 25, Friday June 26, and Saturday June 27.

The Washington Township Health Care District Board of Directors approved a 3-year contract with Local 6 at its June 10 meeting. The agreement was ratified by Local 6 members on Thursday, May 14, 2020. 

“The Board is committed to ensuring that our International Longshoremen & Warehouse members, which include radiology and cath lab technologists, are paid the best possible rates given the Hospital’s financial situation,” said Kimberly Hartz, CEO of Washington Hospital Healthcare System. “Despite the financial challenges created by COVID-19, the new contract will allows us to recruit and retain qualified technologists to care for the residents of our district.” 

Contract terms include: Across-the-board wage increases, including 1% in year one; 2.5% in year two; 2.5% in year three. Call back differential increased to $350 in year two for those not already on-call. Additional step increase to a newly created Step 7 after 15 years of service in year two of the contract.

Washington Hospital’s bargaining team received good news today with Local 39 membership ratifying the Hospital’s Last, Best and Final offer at a vote held by the Union today.  The agreement now moves to the Washington Township Health Care District Board of Directors for consideration at an upcoming Board meeting.

While the data shows that the Hospital’s Last, Best and Final offer to Local 39 would place its members at the top of the market in terms of compensation, the Union’s negotiators indicated that they were disappointed in the proposal.  They plan to put the Hospital’s offer to a vote of its members, without the Union’s recommendation, on Wednesday, Oct. 5.  On a positive note, the Union rescinded its strike notice, that would have had its members on the picket line shortly after the current agreement expired on Friday, Sept. 30.

The Hospital’s bargaining team looks forward to the Union’s members accepting the Hospital’s Last, Best and Final offer on Wednesday.

Negotiations between Washington Hospital and Local 39 continued on Thursday, Sept. 29, with both parties meeting throughout the day and late into the evening in an effort to reach an agreement on a new contract. After several proposals were exchanged, the Hospital gave the Union its Last, Best and Final Offer. The wage increases offered for the base wage are as follows:

Effective 10/1/2016 – 3.5% ($53.58)

Effective 10/1/2017 –  3.5% ($55.46)

Effective 10/1/2018 – 3.5% ($ 57.40)

Effective 10/1/ 2019 – 3.0% ($59.12)

In addition, the Hospital’s offer includes an increase in the shift differentials for the PM shift, the Night shift and the Relief shift to $2.25 and the Hospital has also agreed to increase the contributions it makes to the training fund by $20 a year. Click here to view the Hospital’s proposal.

The Hospital also handed the Union across the table its market data showing that these increases place the wages of Washington Hospital engineers above all other hospitals in the area. The document containing the data which was provided to the Union is attached here.

The current contract expires at midnight today, Sept. 30. The Union has not responded to the Hospital’s the Last, Best and Final offer.  The Hospital told the Union it believes this offer to be fair and competitive and has asked the Union to have it voted on by its members and let the employees decide for themselves.  Additional updates will be provided as they are available.

We commenced negotiations with Stationary Engineers, Local 39 on July 29, 2016. The contract expires on September 30, 2016. Today, August 17, 2016, was the fourth meeting of the two parties and the Hospital presented its entire economic proposal (a copy of the wage proposal is hereby attached). In advance of the Hospital’s presentation today, Washington Hospital also shared with the union and the bargaining team its wage survey results that solidified Hospital wages for Local 39 employees as higher than the market. The Hospital’s survey involved reviewing 13 local hospitals. Despite the existing higher wages, the Hospital’s initial offer is a 9% increase to base wage rates over the course of a four year agreement. Washington Hospital also gave the union the same medical benefits proposal that now exists throughout the Hospital for all other employees, including employees represented by the five other unions. In addition, the Hospital advised the union that it was rejecting their proposal to move Local 39 employees to the Local 39 Pension Plan; in part because the new California law under PEPRRA (which covers public entities and became effective January 1, 2013) does not permit the Hospital under these circumstances to switch some of its employees to a new pension plan. The Local 39 employees are currently covered by the same pension plan that is in place for all Washington Hospital employees, including employees represented by the five other unions. In addition, the Hospital agreed to increase the stipend for safety shoes and incur the cost of laundering employee’s uniforms; the parties signed a tentative agreement on this.

The next scheduled negotiations session is set for September 8, 2016. The Hospital has offered to meet on additional date(s) between now and the scheduled September 8 meeting (both parties are checking their respective schedules to see if there are any available dates).The parties are prepared to meet on numerous other occasions in order to ensure negotiations occur between now and the end of September when the Local 39 contract expires.

 

Washington Hospital’s bargaining team and representatives from ILWU, Local 6 met with the mediator for a second time on July 28.  At this meeting, both sides reached a tentative agreement that covered the remaining issues. Both parties also agreed that they would support and fully endorse the tentative agreement for ratification by both Local 6 members and the Hospital’s Board of Directors. Local 6 membership will vote on the agreement no later than Friday, August 5, 2016. Further updates will be provided on this blog as soon as they are available.

Washington Hospital’s bargaining team and representatives from Local 6 will hold a meeting with the mediator on July 18 as the mediation process commences.  Hospital representatives are hopeful that this process will be swiftly resolved.  Updates will be provided on this blog as soon as they are available.