Jun 13, 2008  
Bargaining – 6/12/08
 
With this "last, best,and final" offer by management, we must now hold a vote on whether to accept or reject their proposal. Everyone on your bargaining team felt insulted by their arrogant rejection of our quest for simple, industry standards.

Today, the administration came back at us with a couple of minor changes to their last proposed wage counter. Their stand on non-economic issues did not change at all. Today's counter was again a "take it all, or take none of it" package deal. Importantly, today's proposal was their "last, best, and final" offer.

The changes to their wage scale was basically a 1% increase divided over the 2nd and 3rd years of the contract. This means they increased each of the two last years of their proposed contract by 0.5%, from their previous 2.5% to 3% each year.

They also added six more years to reach one's wage cap, from six yearly steps, at present, to 12. This means it would take twice the time to be topped at nearly the same wages. This is a step backward as most employees usually get a 3% "market survey" increase anyway. These step increases would not even come close to covering the expected high cost-of-living increases. So, our earning power would actually decrease.

In order to entice our membership into accepting their "take-it-or-leave-it" package, they offered retro pay for the lost market wages they held back from us from last year's "market survey." This payment would only cover the time period from 7/1/07 to 6/28/08. This would not be a permanent increase added to our wages, but would only be a one-time lump sum payment. That's all. This is a payment they should have given us last year; we requested it, and they refused.

To figure out the retro they would pay you, take your gross wages from 7/1/07 through 6/28/08 and multiply that by 3%.

Their proposed wage scale would still keep most of us in the service unit at a near-poverty standard of living. With their proposal, some in our service unit would actually earn less in their first year of the contract than the average Enloe "market survey" would provide! Others would only make pennies more! Your bargaining team felt that this was one more attempt by the administration to treat us as their unruly children, in effect, punishing us for voting for a union. Over and over again, they arrogantly ignore our concerns for better working conditions, reasonable benefits, and fair and liveable wages.

THE NON-ECONOMIC ISSUES
Staff can still be outsourced as the administration still has not agreed to Article 6 on subcontracting, or Article 35 on change of ownership, sales or foreclosures compromising job security as new owners could fire employees, force us to reapply for our old jobs and bring in their own employees leaving us out in the cold. The administration's no strike clause would punish us for action on our off hours, denying us our constitutional rights of free speech and assembly. Do we want the employer to control our free time? This means being able to do what we will without reprisal from our boss.

Our staff wants what all hospital staffs everywhere want: patient safety, safe staffing, job security, fair wages, and a say in our future at the only trauma 2 medical center in this area.

With this "last, best,and final" offer by management, we must now hold a vote on whether to accept or reject their proposal. Everyone on your bargaining team felt insulted by their arrogant rejection of our quest for simple, industry standards.

Very soon, you will be receiving a letter from your bargaining team outlining where we stand with this contract and our options. The gauntlet has been thrown. We can change management's "last, best, and final," but it will take a strong, committed insistence on our part. It will take strong, committed action. Stay tuned.