2025 Dues Rates Announced

AFSCME, SHARE’s parent union, has announced dues rates increases for the upcoming year. The 2025 regular weekly dues rate for SHARE members will be $11.20. That is an increase of $0.42 per paycheck, or roughly one cent per hour. For members working 20 hours/week, the 2025 weekly rate will be $8.39.

WHY SHOULD I PAY DUES?

Dues are an investment that SHARE members make in themselves and their coworkers. Without a union, employees have very little leverage to make change, or even to hold onto what they have.

SHARE members want respect for the work that they do, fair treatment, opportunities for advancement, and good raises so that they can take care of themselves and their families. SHARE gives employees a voice in various ways:

• In contract negotiations, we have a voice in our pay, benefits and work policies.

• In union meetings and individual conversations, we have a voice in the direction and priorities of the union

• Through the problem-solving process, we have a voice when individual problems/conflicts come up at work

• In union elections, we have a voice in who our representatives will be

• Through committees, Unit Based Teams, and ad-hoc negotiations, we have a voice in issues that face groups of SHARE members

When it comes down to dollars and cents, dues pay for themselves. SHARE has consistently negotiated raises each year since SHARE became a union in 1997. Those increases have resulted in notably better pay rates than non-union counterparts. Among other things, our hospital also continues to contribute to the Defined Benefit Pension plan of all SHARE members, as well as continuing to pay 85% of Health Insurance costs.

Working together through the union, SHARE members can continue to make progress in all these areas. And dues support the staff who support this work.

How Do Union Dues Compare to My Raise?

They’re not even close! When it comes to a monetary cost-benefit analysis, dues clearly pay themselves off. Consider how the math works . . .

• The lowest raise that a SHARE member can get (at 40 hours) is $1.00 x 40. That’s a raise of $40 per week, before taxes.

• SHARE Union Dues: in January, SHARE union dues will go up 42 cents per week.

• The raise on your first hour worked more than pays for that increase.

• $50.00 - $.0.42 = $49.58 increase per week (at least)

Am I Required to Pay Dues?

Because all employees working in the SHARE bargaining unit at UMass Memorial receive the benefits negotiated by our union, all employees are legally required to contribute through membership or through an equal paycheck deduction authorized by a “Fair Share” card.

If you have questions or would like to sign a Fair Share card, please call the SHARE office and leave a message at 508-929-4020 or email share.comment@theshareunion.org.

Only members can run for union leadership positions, vote in union elections, and participate in benefits programs such as UnionPlus.

HOW ARE DUES CALCULATED?

Any annual increase is calculated by the AFSCME International office based on the average percent increase of AFSCME members’ pay rates across the country in the previous year.

WHERE DO MY DUES GO?

The short answer is that dues mostly pays for SHARE staff.

The longer answer is that SHARE members at UMass Memorial pool their dues money with members of three other unions locals: SHARE at UMass Chan Medical School, HUCTW at Harvard University, and USW at Cambridge Health Alliance. The four union locals together are called the New England Organizing Project (NEOP). All their dues together pay for the union staff for all the locals, union offices, phones and utilities, mailings, etc. About 75% of the budget is for staff.

The staff spend their time gathering information and opinions from members, sharing information with members, developing and supporting SHARE Reps, helping members with questions or problems, negotiating contracts, organizing events, researching issues, writing blog posts, etc., all on behalf of SHARE members.

MORE INFORMATION

If you would like to know more, please talk to a SHARE Rep, email share.comment@theshareunion.org, or call 508-929-4020. You can also learn more about what our union does, and the benefits of union membership, by exploring www.sharehospitalunion.org.

SHARE Updates: New SHARE Union at CHA, 2025 Dues Increase, and UBT Highlights

New SHARE Union at Cambridge Health Alliance

Physician Associates, Attending Physicians, and Psychologists have decided to form a new union at Cambridge Health Alliance — SHARE CHA!

The clinicians, who work at sites in eastern Massachusetts cities and towns including Cambridge, Somerville, Malden, and Everett, are creating their union to participate directly in the decisions that affect them at work. They’ve chosen to affiliate with our own union, SHARE, because they value our approaches, including forming structures such as Unit Based Teams, which puts SHARE members’ expertise in decision-making roles, and our strategies, such as joint-lobbying, in which our union works alongside hospital leaders, advocating directly to legislators to make funding and districting choices that keep things fair for safety net hospitals like ours.

“The bigger goal is really based on reshaping the health care system so that those who are providing direct care to patients can bring their experience and expertise to the table,” said SHARE Organizer Andrea Caceres in an interview with the Boston Globe.

SHARE-CHA will be its own new union local, but will continue to work closely with our unions at UMass Memorial Hospital and UMass Chan Medical School to develop ideas for improving patient care and the ways that we give it.

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2025 Dues Rates Announced

Dues are an investment that union members make in themselves and their co-workers. AFSCME, SHARE’s parent union, has announced dues rates increases for the upcoming year.

The 2025 regular weekly dues rate for SHARE members will be $11.20. That is an increase of 42 cents per paycheck, or roughly one cent per hour. For members working 20 hours/week, the 2025 weekly rate will be $8.39. The new rates will be reflected in the first paycheck in January.

To learn more about dues — including how dues amounts are determined, what the money pays for, and how your investment pays off directly for you — read more here.

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SHARE UBTs Get International Attention

On Halloween this year, SHARE Unit Based Teams from the Oncology Clinic, Vascular Surgery Office, University CT, and Nuclear Medicine presented successes from their projects to system leaders from hospital networks around North America who belong to a not-for-profit organization, Catalysis. The organization has a vision “to transform the healthcare industry through experiments, collaboration and education.”

Catalysis representatives were curious to better understand our union’s Labor Management Partnership, and to learn how projects developed by SHARE members were improving patient care, creating cost-savings, and making our work as caregivers more efficient and more meaningful.

Kellie Morton, a SHARE member of the Cancer Clinic UBT, described their heartwarming project to provide fitting head coverings for all patients undergoing cancer treatments. Before, options were limited and unnatural on some patients. However, after taking advantage of a Seed Equity grant, SHARE members were able to provide wigs, hats, and other head coverings that suited a more diverse range of patients.

Halloween gave UBT Coaches Joan Perrault and Will Erickson the opportunity to reveal their true identities as The Wastebusters!

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Welcoming Alaina Anderson to the Partnership Office

And, last but not least, we’re excited to share this exciting announcement from our friends in the SHARE-UMass Memorial Partnership office!

Alaina Anderson, UBT Program Coordinator

We write to introduce you to our new UBT Program Coordinator, Alaina Anderson!  Alaina joins us most recently from the Marlboro Hospital ED and has already been making great impressions in her first few days with us.  In the coming weeks we’re going to be bringing her with us to many of your UBT meetings, co-cos and preps to help her get a deep understanding of what we’re up to, so we hope you’ll get the chance to meet her soon.  In addition to shepherding our UBT program schedules and activities, Alaina is going to be a great resource to you in your UBT and LMP project work.  Please join us in welcoming Alaina!

2024 Dues Rates Announced

AFSCME, SHARE’s parent union, has announced dues rates increases for the upcoming year. The 2024 regular weekly dues rate for SHARE members will be $10.78. That is an increase of $0.55 per paycheck, or slightly more than one cent per hour. For members working 20 hours/week, the 2024 weekly rate will be $8.07.

WHY SHOULD I PAY DUES?

Dues are an investment that SHARE members make in themselves and their coworkers. Without a union, employees have very little leverage to make change, or even to hold onto what they have.

SHARE members want respect for the work that they do, fair treatment, opportunities for advancement, and good raises so that they can take care of themselves and their families. SHARE gives employees a voice in various ways:

• In contract negotiations, we have a voice in our pay, benefits and work policies.

• In union meetings and individual conversations, we have a voice in the direction and priorities of the union

• Through the problem-solving process, we have a voice when individual problems/conflicts come up at work

• In union elections, we have a voice in who our representatives will be

• Through committees, Unit Based Teams, and ad-hoc negotiations, we have a voice in issues that face groups of SHARE members

When it comes down to dollars and cents, dues pay for themselves. SHARE has consistently negotiated raises each year that our union has existed, over 22 years. Those increases have resulted in notably better pay rates than non-union counterparts. Among other things, our hospital also continues to contribute to the Defined Benefit Pension plan of all SHARE members, as well as continuing to pay 85% of Health Insurance costs.

Working together through the union, SHARE members can continue to make progress in all these areas. And dues support the staff who support this work.

When it comes to a monetary cost-benefit-analysis, dues clearly pay themselves off. This image demonstrates how the math works for this year when comparing increases in costs deducted by the employer against the increase in wages.

Am I Required to Pay Dues?

Because all employees working in the SHARE bargaining unit at UMass Memorial receive the benefits negotiated by our union, all employees are required to contribute through membership or through an equal paycheck deduction authorized by a “Fair Share” card.

If you have questions or would like to sign a Fair Share card, please call the SHARE office and leave a message at 508-929-4020 or email share.comment@theshareunion.org.

Only members can run for union leadership positions, vote in union elections, and participate in benefits programs such as UnionPlus.

HOW ARE DUES CALCULATED?

Any annual increase is calculated by the AFSCME International office based on the average percent increase of AFSCME members’ pay rates across the country in the previous year.

WHERE DO MY DUES GO?

The short answer is that dues mostly pays for SHARE staff.

The longer answer is that SHARE members at UMass Memorial pool their dues money with members of three other unions locals: SHARE at UMass Medical School, HUCTW at Harvard University, and USW at Cambridge Health Alliance. The four union locals together are called the New England Organizing Project (NEOP). All their dues together pay for the union staff for all the locals, union offices, phones and utilities, mailings, etc. About 75% of the budget is for staff.

The staff spend their time gathering information and opinions from members, sharing information with members, developing and supporting SHARE Reps, helping members with questions or problems, negotiating contracts, organizing events, researching issues, writing blog posts, etc., all on behalf of SHARE members.

MORE INFORMATION

If you would like to know more, please talk to a SHARE Rep, email share.comment@theshareunion.org, or call 508-929-4020. You can also learn more about what our union does, and the benefits of union membership, by exploring www.sharehospitalunion.org.

2023 Dues Rates Announced

AFSCME, SHARE’s parent union, has announced dues rates increases for the upcoming year. The 2023 regular weekly dues rate for SHARE members will be $10.23. That is an increase of $0.39 per paycheck, or slightly less than one cent per hour. For members working 20 hours/week, the 2023 weekly rate will be $7.66.

WHY SHOULD I PAY DUES?

Dues are an investment that SHARE members make in themselves and their coworkers. Without a union, employees have very little leverage to make change, or even to hold onto what they have.

SHARE members want respect for the work that they do, fair treatment, opportunities for advancement, and good raises so that they can take care of themselves and their families. SHARE gives employees a voice in various ways:

• In contract negotiations, we have a voice in our pay, benefits and work policies.

• In union meetings and individual conversations, we have a voice in the direction and priorities of the union

• Through the problem-solving process, we have a voice when individual problems/conflicts come up at work

• In union elections, we have a voice in who our representatives will be

• Through committees, Unit Based Teams, and ad-hoc negotiations, we have a voice in issues that face groups of SHARE members

When it comes down to dollars and cents, dues pay for themselves. SHARE has consistently negotiated raises each year that our union has existed, over 22 years. Those increases have resulted in notably better pay rates than non-union counterparts. Among other things, our hospital also continues to contribute to the Defined Benefit Pension plan of all SHARE members, as well as continuing to pay 85% of Health Insurance costs.

Working together through the union, SHARE members can continue to make progress in all these areas. And dues support the staff who support this work.

When it comes to a monetary cost-benefit-analysis, dues clearly pay themselves off. This slide from the recent SHARE Contract Information meetings demonstrates how the math works for this year when comparing increases in costs deducted by the employer against the increase in wages.

Am I Required to Pay Dues?

Because all employees working in the SHARE bargaining unit at UMass Memorial receive the benefits negotiated by our union, all employees are required to contribute through membership or through an equal paycheck deduction authorized by a “Fair Share” card.

If you have questions or would like to sign a Fair Share card, please call the SHARE office and leave a message at 508-929-4020 or email share.comment@theshareunion.org.

Only members can run for union leadership positions, vote in union elections, and participate in benefits programs such as UnionPlus.

HOW ARE DUES CALCULATED?

Any annual increase is calculated by the AFSCME International office based on the average percent increase of AFSCME members’ pay rates across the country in the previous year.

WHERE DO MY DUES GO?

The short answer is that dues mostly pays for SHARE staff.

The longer answer is that SHARE members at UMass Memorial pool their dues money with members of three other unions locals: SHARE at UMass Medical School, HUCTW at Harvard University, and USW at Cambridge Health Alliance. The four union locals together are called the New England Organizing Project (NEOP). All their dues together pay for the union staff for all the locals, union offices, phones and utilities, mailings, etc. About 75% of the budget is for staff.

The staff spend their time gathering information and opinions from members, sharing information with members, developing and supporting SHARE Reps, helping members with questions or problems, negotiating contracts, organizing events, researching issues, writing blog posts, etc., all on behalf of SHARE members.

MORE INFORMATION

If you would like to know more, please talk to a SHARE Rep, email share.comment@theshareunion.org, or call 508-929-4020. You can also learn more about what our union does, and the benefits of union membership, by exploring www.sharehospitalunion.org.

2022 Dues Rates Announced

AFSCME, SHARE’s parent union, has announced dues rates increases for the upcoming year. The 2022 regular weekly dues rate for SHARE members will be $9.84. That is an increase of twenty-four cents per paycheck, or slightly more than ½ cent per hour. For members working 20 hours/week, the 2022 weekly rate will be $7.37. Assuming that the Kronos cyberattack doesn’t affect this, the new rates should be reflected in the January 6 paycheck.

WHY SHOULD I PAY DUES?

Dues are an investment that SHARE members make in themselves and their coworkers. Without a union, employees have very little leverage to make change, or even to hold onto what they have.

SHARE members want respect for the work that they do, fair treatment, opportunities for advancement, and good raises so that they can take care of themselves and their families. SHARE gives employees a voice in various ways:

• In contract negotiations, we have a voice in our pay, benefits and work policies.

• In union meetings and individual conversations, we have a voice in the direction and priorities of the union

• Through the problem-solving process, we have a voice when individual problems/conflicts come up at work

• In union elections, we have a voice in who our representatives will be

• Through committees, Unit Based Teams, and ad-hoc negotiations, we have a voice in issues that face groups of SHARE members

When it comes down to dollars and cents, dues pay for themselves. SHARE has consistently negotiated raises each year that our union has existed, over 22 years. Those increases have resulted in notably better pay rates than non-union counterparts. Among other things, our hospital also continues to contribute to the Defined Benefit Pension plan of all SHARE members, as well as continuing to pay 85% of Health Insurance costs.

Working together through the union, SHARE members can continue to make progress in all these areas. And dues support the staff who support this work.

HOW ARE DUES CALCULATED?

Any annual increase is calculated by the AFSCME International office based on the average percent increase of AFSCME members’ pay rates across the country in the previous year.

WHERE DO MY DUES GO?

The short answer is that dues mostly pays for SHARE staff.

The longer answer is that SHARE members at UMass Memorial pool their dues money with members of three other unions locals: SHARE at UMass Medical School, HUCTW at Harvard University, and USW at Cambridge Health Alliance. The four union locals together are called the New England Organizing Project (NEOP). All their dues together pay for the union staff for all the locals, union offices, phones and utilities, mailings, etc. About 75% of the budget is for staff.

The staff spend their time gathering information and opinions from members, sharing information with members, developing and supporting SHARE Reps, helping members with questions or problems, negotiating contracts, organizing events, researching issues, writing blog posts, etc., all on behalf of SHARE members.

MORE INFORMATION

If you would like to know more, please talk to a SHARE Rep, email share.comment@theshareunion.org, or call 508-929-4020. You can also learn more about what our union does, and the benefits of union membership, by exploring www.sharehospitalunion.org.

2021 Dues Rates Announced

AFSCME, SHARE’s parent union, has announced dues rates increases for the upcoming year. The 2021 regular weekly dues rate for SHARE members will be $9.60. That is an increase of eighteen cents per paycheck, or a little less than ½ cent per hour. For members working 20 hours/week, the 2021 weekly rate will be $7.19. The new rates will be reflected in the January 7 paycheck.

WHY SHOULD I PAY DUES?

Dues are an investment that SHARE members make in themselves and their coworkers. Without a union, employees have very little leverage to make change, or even to hold onto what they have.

SHARE members want respect for the work that they do, fair treatment, opportunities for advancement, and good raises so that they can take care of themselves and their families. SHARE gives employees a voice in various ways:

• In contract negotiations, we have a voice in our pay, benefits and work policies.

• In union meetings and individual conversations, we have a voice in the direction and priorities of the union

• Through the problem-solving process, we have a voice when individual problems/conflicts come up at work

• In union elections, we have a voice in who our representatives will be

• Through committees, Unit Based Teams, and ad-hoc negotiations, we have a voice in issues that face groups of SHARE members

When it comes down to dollars and cents, dues pay for themselves. SHARE has consistently negotiated raises each year that our union has existed, over 22 years. Those increases have resulted in notably better pay rates than non-union counterparts. Among other things, our hospital also continues to contribute to the Defined Benefit Pension plan of all SHARE members, as well as continuing to pay 85% of Health Insurance costs.

Working together through the union, SHARE members can continue to make progress in all these areas. And dues support the staff who support this work.

HOW ARE DUES CALCULATED?

Any annual increase is calculated by the AFSCME International office based on the average percent increase of AFSCME members’ pay rates across the country in the previous year.

WHERE DO MY DUES GO?

The short answer is that dues mostly pays for SHARE staff.

The longer answer is that SHARE members at UMass Memorial pool their dues money with members of three other unions locals: SHARE at UMass Medical School, HUCTW at Harvard University, and USW at Cambridge Health Alliance. The four union locals together are called the New England Organizing Project (NEOP). All their dues together pay for the union staff for all the locals, union offices, phones and utilities, mailings, etc. About 75% of the budget is for staff.

The staff spend their time gathering information and opinions from members, sharing information with members, developing and supporting SHARE Reps, helping members with questions or problems, negotiating contracts, organizing events, researching issues, writing blog posts, etc., all on behalf of SHARE members.

MORE INFORMATION

If you would like to know more, please talk to a SHARE Rep, email share.comment@theshareunion.org, or call 508-929-4020. You can also learn more about what our union does, and the benefits of union membership, by exploring www.sharehospitalunion.org.

2020 SHARE Dues Correction

You may have noticed in your paycheck this week that the union dues increase for 2020 has only just been applied. That change comes seven weeks later than we originally reported in this blog post.  

Dues rates are established by SHARE’s parent union, AFSCME. Dues deductions are administered by UMass Memorial. When SHARE recognized that the dues had not been corrected for 2020, we alerted the hospital, who confirmed that the update of the dues rate had been delayed by mistake.

The delay has created a total retro amount of one dollar and seventy-five cents (slightly less for 20-hour/week employees.) We are currently talking with the hospital about how the retro will be handled.

SHARE members at UMass Memorial Hospital in Marlboro should note that the dues rate change was timed correctly, so this doesn't apply there.

Thank you for understanding, and for your participation in keeping our union strong. If you have any questions about dues, please call the SHARE office (508-929-4020). 

2020 SHARE Dues Rates Announced

AFSCME, SHARE’s parent union, has announced dues rates increases for the upcoming year. The 2020 regular weekly dues rate for SHARE members will be $9.42. That is an increase of twenty-five cents per paycheck, or a little more than ½ cent per hour. For members working 20 hours/week, the 2020 weekly rate will be $7.05. The new rates will be reflected in the January 9 paycheck.

WHY SHOULD I PAY DUES?

Dues are an investment that SHARE members make in themselves and their coworkers. Without a union, employees have very little leverage to make change, or even to hold onto what they have.

SHARE members want respect for the work that they do, fair treatment, opportunities for advancement, and good raises so that they can take care of themselves and their families. SHARE gives employees a voice in various ways:

• In contract negotiations, we have a voice in our pay, benefits and work policies.

• In union meetings and individual conversations, we have a voice in the direction and priorities of the union

• Through the problem-solving process, we have a voice when individual problems/conflicts come up at work

• In union elections, we have a voice in who our representatives will be

• Through committees, Unit Based Teams, and ad-hoc negotiations, we have a voice in issues that face groups of SHARE members

When it comes down to dollars and cents, dues pay for themselves. SHARE has consistently negotiated raises each year that our union has existed, over 22 years. Those increases have resulted in notably better pay rates than non-union counterparts. Among other things, our hospital also continues to contribute to the Defined Benefit Pension plan of all SHARE members, as well as continuing to pay 85% of Health Insurance costs.

Working together through the union, SHARE members can continue to make progress in all these areas. And dues support the staff who support this work.

HOW ARE DUES CALCULATED?

Any annual increase is calculated by the AFSCME International office based on the average percent increase of AFSCME members’ pay rates across the country in the previous year.

WHERE DO MY DUES GO?

The short answer is that dues mostly pays for SHARE staff.

The longer answer is that SHARE members at UMass Memorial pool their dues money with members of three other unions locals: SHARE at UMass Medical School, HUCTW at Harvard University, and USW at Cambridge Health Alliance. The four union locals together are called the New England Organizing Project (NEOP). All their dues together pay for the union staff for all the locals, union offices, phones and utilities, mailings, etc. About 75% of the budget is for staff.

The staff spend their time gathering information and opinions from members, sharing information with members, developing and supporting SHARE Reps, helping members with questions or problems, negotiating contracts, organizing events, researching issues, writing blog posts, etc., all on behalf of SHARE members.

MORE INFORMATION

If you would like to know more, please talk to a SHARE Rep, email share.comment@theshareunion.org, or call 508-929-4020. You can also learn more about what our union does, and the benefits of union membership, by exploring www.sharehospitalunion.org.