Mar 31, 2008  
Bargaining – 3/24/08
 
If we want a contract any time soon, we’ll need to take it to a whole 'nother level....

On Monday, 3/24/08, the bargaining team presented its counter proposal on Article 18: Classification and Wages; Appendix A – our wage scale – will be presented on 3/31/08. There were, as always, some changes made, as follows:

B. Pay Day
2. The employer will make its best effort to pay night shift by the end of the employee's last shift on payday Thursday. We also want the option for staff to pick up checks at payroll. The administration wants reasonable effort, not necessarily their best.
5. Paycheck Errors – Pay errors will be corrected and paid within 24 hours of report to payroll. If reported on Friday; they will be paid by 10am Monday, as checks deposited after 3pm are not credited until the next day.

C. Progression Schedule; it’s close to ours but looks like Enloe wants it based on years and the union wants years and experience.

D. Job Description and Classification was TA'd

E. Uniforms TA'd

G. Training – The union holds to our proposal. It’s voluntary for non-lead employees and orientation is not training. Employees will get $1.50 per hr. over their base pay for training.

H. Evaluations – TA'd

I. Relief work in a Higher Paid Class – will be paid at the higher rate.

J. Premium Pay
1. Leads regularly scheduled or "titled," get 10% extra. Temporary leads get 5% extra.
2. Shift Differential. We want: $1.50 for PM, $2.50 for nights, and $1.00 for weekends. Management wants: $1.00 for PM, $1.50 for nights, and $0.75 for weekends.
Double shifts are to be paid at the greater rate of the 2 shifts.
3. Short Call – was TA'd on 8/23/07.
4. In lieu of pay gets 15% extra

K. Bilingual Services – The administration left it out. We put it back in with protection against using untrained employees to translate. Employees will not be required, or held responsible, for bilingual service. We propose only trained certified staff be used for translation. Enloe wants only phones used and not employees.

L. Standby - Employees on standby will get ½ pay. Holiday standby will be ¾ pay.
Employees on low census or cancelled shifts required to be available for call back will be considered to be on standby and paid so. [Employees have reported being put on low census and told to be available for work and not given standby pay.]

M. Split Shift – TA 'd

N. Meals – TA'd

O. EXTRA Shift Bonus – We believe it should be in the contract. It states that any employee who works a shift in addition to their regular one will receive $20 for every additional 4 hours and any 4 hour increment thereafter.

P. Medical Discounts – TA'd

The team agreed to TA parts of this article and to review the rest after we give our counter proposal on the actual wage scale. We will come back with an Industry Standard wage scale that reflects UHW standards and is in line with other north state UHW hospitals. We don’t compare ourselves with Feather River, Oroville or Yuba City hospitals as the Enloe Administration would like us to. If we want Industry Standards and a strong contract that give us safe staffing, job protection, proper wages and a voice for our concerns, we’ll need to support each other and GET them.

We delivered our petition last week to Mike Wiltermood, COO, and Darby Makel, Chairman of Enloe's Board of Trustees. Our petition was in turn taken to the Board on 3/24/08 for discussion amongst themselves. After all these years of our administration stalling us, after all these months of negotiating word after word, clause after clause, and article after article, your bargaining team has concluded that management is...that's right...stalling again. We in the service unit now need to move on to the next step. So, next Thursday, April 3rd, at the Heritage Inn there will be informational meetings and a vote for an informational picket. The meetings will be at 7:30, 12:30, 15:30, 17:30 and 19:00. If you can't make one of the meetings, please do come by anyway if just to vote; it'll only take a minute. We will be at the Heritage Inn all day. Heritage Inn is next to K-Mart.

It’s our contract, and if we want to get it done any time soon, we’ll need to take it to a whole 'nother level. The contract we ultimately sign will affect us all for the next 2 or 3 years. Let’s get it done, and let's make it a good one.