Contract Negotiations Update: It's All about the Money
As SHARE Members made clear in the 2022 Contract Surveys, raises are SHARE’s top priority for negotiations. Last week, the SHARE Negotiating Team put our first raise proposal on the table to the hospital. Our proposal aims to:
Take inflation and the rise in cost-of-living expenses into account.
Make sure SHARE members make progress every year as their experience grows.
Catch up to what other employers are paying so that UMass Memorial can hire and fill positions, so SHARE members aren’t so short-staffed.
Deal with the fact that the rising minimum wage in Massachusetts, added to the national staffing shortage, makes it especially hard to retain staff.
Recognize SHARE members’ hard work during COVID and now – SHARE members are Always Essential!
Read more about what’s happening SHARE and UMass Memorial negotiations, including our wage discussions, in this blog post.
Virtual Information Meeting on Wednesday
Informed members keep our union strong. The SHARE Organizing staff invites all members to join online in the next of our series of information meetings to talk about how contract negotiations are going. We encourage you to bring your questions, enjoy your lunch if you want, and appear on camera if you can.
What: Negotiations Update, with a special focus on remote work
When: Wednesday, August 17, 11:30am-1pm
Where: Online, via Zoom: link here
The Inflation Reduction Act & Healthcare Savings for Americans
President Biden is soon expected to sign into law a set of reforms known as the Inflation Reduction Act that promise some good news for American workers. According to the Washington Post, the new rule would, among other things, “prevent huge spikes in the cost of health insurance for roughly 13 million Americans. It would limit seniors’ drugs costs at $2,000 a year. And it would place a cap of $35 a month on how much diabetics enrolled in Medicare would pay for insulin, a lifesaving medication.” Read what AFSCME President Lee Saunders says about the package, and why it’s good for union members, here.
Support a Strong Contract: Sign the SHARE Signature Poster
So many SHARE members have already signed the 2022 SHARE signature poster in support of a strong contract. Thank you! To ensure the best possible raises and contract, we encourage all SHARE members to sign on to this statement of our needs and values. SHARE Reps and Organizers will continue to bring signature forms through the hospital buildings and answer questions about negotiations. You can also call the SHARE office (508-929-4020) to make arrangements to sign.
