Blog Digest: New Free College Opportunities, First Aid for Stress, Member Spotlights, and More

Phil Berry: ASR, SHARE Rep, Nursing Student, Advocate for Equitable Healthcare, and more!

SHARE’d Stories

We keep adding to SHARE’s collection of SHARE’d stories. Most recently, Communications Specialist Nancy Barrett & ASR/SHARE Rep Phil Berry describe, in their own words, their roles in the hospital and the effect of the pandemic on the work that they do.

Dignity and Human Rights . . . and SHARE

SHARE applauds the fact that our hospital recognizes the value of unions — and of our very own Unit Based Teams — as important elements of being heard in the workplace. Unions provide an essential, independent source of power and safety for workers. Read more . . .

Super Bowl Trip for Super Healthcare Heroes

Our team may not have been in the big game this year, but there’s still reason to celebrate. Patriots owner Robert Kraft flew seventy-five healthcare workers to this year’s Super Bowl aboard the Patriots’ private jet, and SHARE member and Respiratory Therapist Lisa Drakos was among them!

Free College Degrees: New Opportunities

AFSCME’s Free College Program, already popular benefit among SHARE members, has recently announced new offerings in Health Services and Business Management.

Things to Know for Bad Weather

What you should understand about the framework that SHARE negotiated with the hospital, and advice for knowing how the Inclement Weather policy works in your own department.

How to Find Open Covid Vaccine Appointments, Efficiently

Although the rollout for UMass Memorial caregivers to receive the Covid vaccine is well underway, your friends and loved ones here in Massachusetts may run into frustrations finding access to the shot as it becomes available to them. A new website can help.

First Aid for Stress

UMass Memorial is hosting a webinar to help caregivers understand and apply the fundamental elements of Stress First Aid when the need arises — learn to provide important care for yourself, your team, and your loved ones.

Member Spotlight: Phil Berry

Ambulatory Services Rep & SHARE Rep, University Campus Endoscopy Suite

interviewed by Anna Weick, 12/10/2020

Healthcare workers are more than just the doctor and nurse who complete your appointment. They’re also everyone behind the scenes. They’re our food service workers, our maintenance staff, our housekeeping staff -- all of these individuals play an invaluable role within the healthcare system.

I’m on the Health Equity Diversity and Inclusion Council (HEDIC) at UMass, and one of the things we’re discussing right now is ensuring that access to the COVID-19 vaccine is equitable -- that anyone on the frontlines, regardless of their title, will have access to the vaccine. It’s been really inspiring to see that intention set firsthand. The Council was looking for regular hourly employees to join the council and diversify the perspectives. Most people who serve on the council have been senior VPs and higher-level staff.  I was introduced to the Council and their work through my Union Organizer. Being a part of SHARE allows me to be part of a larger conversation about creating positive changes and improving health equity in our community and even within my own workplace.

A lot of change is happening on campus, with COVID and within my department. After every briefing that Governor Baker or Dr. Dickson has to inform the public of any COVID updates, we get inundated with hundreds of phone calls, questions about the patient’s appointments and procedures. People are worried about the impact of the virus on their preventative maintenance. After one of the last conferences, patients became concerned that their outpatient procedures were being cancelled due to the announcement of the cancellation of inpatient, elective procedures. Even though my team doesn’t schedule elective inpatient procedures, our phones were off-the-hook with worried patients. The whole purpose of this announcement was to avoid inpatient bed overload, but a single word in a press briefing impacted our entire week’s work.

We have many appointments to be scheduled in the backlog due to COVID with 7 of us on staff. It’s hard because the world’s focus is on COVID-19. The focus is not on people getting their screening colonoscopies. It’s not at the forefront of people’s perception. We all start out our day with daily COVID-19 check-ins. We are still coming in every day and scheduling our patients and taking our calls. We are still doing our jobs, nothing has changed since the beginning of COVID. There was maybe a month where about three of us were doing other jobs -- I handed out masks at the front entrance -- when we weren’t scheduling as much. After that, everything went back to normal. It’s more stressful in our roles now because we are working as schedulers and healthcare providers, we provide emotional labor to patients to convince them that it’s safe and necessary for them to get their health care.

The top 5 languages in our organization are Spanish, Portuguese, English, Vietnamese, and Albanian. For the longest time we’ve been asking supervisors, managers, and others for patient instructions in those languages, and it wasn’t on their priority list. Then I finally got a chance to speak with a Nurse Supervisor of a different location and explained the problem with the lack of clear, translated instructions and the problems it posed for our patients. When I brought this concern up, we were able to address this, locate the instructions and have them uploaded. Now, every single one of the top 5 languages are in our system. I just want to make sure that our patients are taken care of and get the care they need.

 Working as someone who is LGBTQ — I am queer, I am trans, I am nonbinary — and working in a medical space is definitely interesting, to say the least. There isn’t much respect around pronouns and gender identity yet, but I’m hopeful for the future we are creating. I work on the LGBTQ subcommittee for the medical school and I volunteer on the HEDIC. I’m in places where I have some influence and a voice at the table. Being queer and being in a medical setting . . . it feels like I am a trailblazer, even though I know there are so many of us in these roles. All of us are trailblazing to change how things are for the people who come after us. That is something that influences all my interactions. My drive is improving the healthcare system to care equitably for LGBTQ+ people. I’m in school now and plan on being in larger roles within the organization — I want to be running a department. I want to learn, and grow, and bring the perspective that I’ve had from working in other various roles within the organization to that table.

Click here to connect with more SHARE’d Stories

I love being a union rep. I like being able to help my coworkers with questions about their benefits, their work, and their rights as an employee. Everyone comes to me, as the union rep. If something goes wrong, they come to me. I’ve learned through this that a group of people standing up for a common interest not only changes the world around them but changes their individual lives. By talking to each other, sharing our experiences, and being authentic with what we deal with in our lives, we are brought closer together in the struggle. By sharing honestly with each other, we have the opportunity to create better lives for ourselves and each other. Being able to connect with people and learning about what they’ve gone through -- it brings my own struggles into perspective.

Super Bowl for Super Healthcare Heroes

As we write this, SHARE Respiratory Therapist Lisa Drakos is on an outbound flight to Tampa. Like all SHARE members, Respiratory Therapists play an important role in our hospital. They have had a key place in recent months caring for the respiratory complications so common among Covid patients. Lisa’s name was drawn in a department raffle set up to recognize that important work. The prize? An all-inclusive trip to this year’s Super Bowl.

The package comes compliments of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, in a gesture that is making national headlines. Lisa is flying along with 75 other Massachusetts healthcare workers, including others from Central Mass. Some were even caught on video as Robert Kraft told them they’d be flying on the Patriots’ jet to Tampa for the big game.

Congratulations, Lisa! Hope you’re having a fabulous time!

Lisa’s got a jam-packed — and enviable — itinerary

Find Open Slots for Covid Vaccinations

Mitz DeSouza, SHARE Member and X-Ray Technologist at Marlborough Hospital, received one of the first doses for caregivers at UMass Memorial. Read more . . .

While on maternity leave following the birth of her second child, Olivia Adams, a 28-year-old Arlington resident, developed her own website where eligible Massachusetts residents and their caregivers can find available appointments to receive the Covid vaccine.

Read (or listen to) the story at WBUR.  

Want to help an eligible Massachusetts resident get vaccinated?

Dignity and Human Rights . . . and SHARE

UMass Memorial has published an important statement of commitment to dignity and human rights. One way to truly respect the whole community is to listen to the voice of every employee who works in our hospital.

SHARE applauds the fact that our hospital recognizes the value of unions — and of our very own Unit Based Teams — as important elements of being heard in the workplace. Unions provide an essential independent source of power and safety for workers.

We’re pleased to see that the hospital even pairs its official statement in the Ethics and Business Conduct section of the Hub with a quote from SHARE Co-President, Rita Caputo. We’ve highlighted Rita’s statement below.

SHARE shares in this commitment. If you would like help seeing that concerns are addressed, please don’t hesitate to contact SHARE. You can view the hospital’s Code of Ethics on the UMass Memorial Hub or online.

AFSCME Free College Benefit: New Options in Healthcare and Business Management

NOW ENROLLING FOR SPRING CLASSES MARCH 29, 2021 

Many SHARE members have already taken advantage of the Free College Benefit, offered by our parent union, AFSCME in conjunction with Eastern Gateway University. It’s a popular perk of union membership. Since it began in 2016, the program has expanded the variety of courses and degrees that it offers, The program now adds opportunities in nursing and other healthcare fields, as well as specialty certificates in the Business Management degree program . . .

New!  Health Services

Interested in nursing or another allied health specialty?  This program can help you get there faster!  This degree pathway offers the math and science you’ll need, as well as the general education and critical thinking courses, that a student will need in many healthcare fields. The Health Services degree is perfect for learning more about the industry or preparing to apply for nursing school.

Develop Your Expertise in These Business Management Specialties

• Advertising

• Cyber Security

• Data Analytics

• Digital and Social Media

• Environment and Conservation Studies

• Entrepreneurship

• Finance

• Hospitality: Food and Beverage Management

• Hospitality: Hotel and Event Management

• Human Resources Management

• IT Help Desk

• Labor Studies

• Marketing

• Operations and Logistics

• Programming & Development

• Project Management Fundamentals

Note that unemployed, furloughed, and laid off union workers and their extended family are all eligible to enroll in Free College.

Member Spotlight: Nancy Barrett

Communications Center, Marlborough Hospital

interviewed by Rafael Rojas, 1/6/2021

This Monday was the first day in 40 years where I felt like I really didn’t want to go to work. My kids were just growing up when I started this job, going part-time on Friday nights. It was my very own Friday night out for a while. I really love getting to talk to people, I enjoy my coworkers, and it is fulfilling work. So, when I felt this way on Monday, I called my boss to talk about it. She was fine with me taking the day off and just getting a break.

My department took on the challenge of putting together the COVID testing kits for the community. At the start of the pandemic, the demand for these kits was not nearly as overwhelming as it is now. There are barely enough to make it to the next day. Each day requires 500-800 tests, and that’s as many as we can make for the day. It’s tough to go through all of that work and feel like there won’t be any left; we just have to start over. 

Putting the tests together in such large quantities is definitely tough work, but the biggest challenge is to keep doing our normal job on top of it, and to do it well. These last few weeks have been very, very, busy and very overwhelming. Thankfully, going into this next surge the hospital administration has put out a call to anyone who would like extra hours to help us out. We really need it.

Perhaps the biggest impact that the pandemic has on our workplace is through our personal lives. It is really tough to want to see my children and their kids and have to wear my mask, or even not see them at all. You can tell that they’re scared and don’t want to get me sick. It’s really hard to see that fear in them. It’s moments like these that make you start thinking ahead and get worried to go into work. My ‘chipper’ attitude does fade as the day goes on, but it’s the time before work, when you worry most, that poses the biggest challenge. This all gets better as soon as I step inside. As I said, I love my work and it makes me happy.

Click here to connect with more SHARE’d Stories

We all need time off. But, for the record, that day when I really felt like I didn’t want to go in to work? I went to work anyway. And I was fine! You know, I’m a morning person, so once I got there all of the girls were like, “Why are you so chipper?” Everyone is in this together, and if we work together, we can get through it. If people speak up and speak their mind and let their concerns be known, they will be addressed. It’s a good thing to get your feelings out and let them be known at a time like this. Speak with your supervisors about how you’re feeling, do the best you can for yourself and for your department and we will get through the days where it’s tough to go in.

First Aid for Stress: A Webinar for UMass Memorial Caregivers

Know Your Department Weather Policy

With the coming snow, SHARE Reps have begun having conversations again about the severe weather policy that SHARE negotiated with hospital management.

The full policy is posted below. The shortest summary is probably this: "All employees are expected to report to work, unless the severe weather plan in their department allows them to stay home." If you do not know if there’s a department-specific plan for your area, you should check with your supervisor or manager.

Please take good care when making decisions about traveling in extreme weather. Also, please contact the SHARE office (508-929-4020) if you have questions, or would like help developing or revising a plan in your own department.

severe weather

from SHARE-UMass Memorial Contract Agreement, page 82

UMass Memorial is an essential community service and as such will continue its operations without regard to weather conditions. However, UMass Memorial and SHARE recognize that severe weather conditions can interfere with the ability of employees to come to work, and agree to the following:

Staffing plans

The CNO, CMO, Hospital President and Vice-Presidents are responsible for developing a fair and equitable staffing plan to ensure continued essential services, and for informing employees of staffing and attendance requirements.

In order for employees to know what their responsibilities are in the case of severe weather, departments are encouraged to develop plans for their areas within the framework of the hospital plan described above. Employees are encouraged to participate in the development of the plan for their department. Department severe weather plans could include: what staffing level is required in the case of severe weather (such as full staffing, skeletal staffing, or no staffing necessary); how employees will find out if they are required to be at work that day, who to call and how to reach them; and whether there is a difference in their department between the plan for severe weather and the plan for a declared state of emergency. Department managers should review the severe weather plan for their department with all employees annually before winter weather begins.

All employees are expected to report to work, unless the severe weather plan in their department allows them to stay home.

Staying at work

Employees who are working during severe weather conditions are expected to work through the end of their assigned work shift unless they are excused earlier. In extreme situations, employees may be required to work beyond the end of their normal scheduled work shift if the manager determines it necessary to meet patient care and operational needs. SHARE overtime rules will apply.

Department closing, early dismissal
If a department is closed for all or part of the day due to severe weather, employees may go home (see pay for missed hours) or choose to report to/remain at work. The hospital may assign people who stay at work to perform different functions than their normal job. For a work assignment in an area other than your own, page the nursing supervisor/bed management: for the University campus, pager #2044; for the Memorial campus (on evenings, nights, weekends and holidays) pager #3318.

Grace period for late arrivals
The office of the CEO or his/her designee may establish a paid grace period for arriving late to work. The length of the grace period will be based on the severity of the weather conditions.

Pay for missed hours

Other than late arrivals covered by an established grace period, employees who miss all or part of their work shift may use earned, vacation or personal time, or choose to go unpaid for the hours they missed. When appropriate, an employee may make up the time that week, by mutual consent between the employee and the supervisor. Made up hours will be paid at straight time unless weekly hours total more than 40.

Excused and unexcused absences
If an employee does not work because the department is closed, or because they are not required to come to work, it will be considered an excused absence. Late arrivals covered by an established grace period will be considered an excused absence. Other absences from work on a severe weather day will be considered unexcused.

Transportation

When severe weather makes travel unsafe, or in a state of emergency, transportation assistance may be available. Requests for assistance should be directed to the nursing supervisor/bed management: for the University campus, pager #2044; for the Memorial campus (on evenings, nights, weekends and holidays) pager #3318. When necessary, communication with external bodies such as the National Guard and ambulance carriers will be coordinated through these offices.

The Case of the Lost SHARE Email Messages

We recently discovered that, since the winter holidays, a glitch in the hospital’s email system may have been diverting SHARE emails to your spam folder. Thanks to those of you who reached out to let us know things seemed too quiet!

We’ve been assured that the problem is now fixed. Visit the SHARE website for all of the interesting and important updates you might have missed, including . . .

• Volunteers Needed to Pick Up Extra time and OT to Help with the Covid surge

• SHARE Opposes Contracting-Out of Food Service and Housekeeping at Health Alliance

• Tips & Tricks for Remembering Employee Symptom Reporting

• About the Covid Vaccine

• Marlborough X-Ray Technologist Mitz DeSouza Describes Getting One of the First Covid Vaccinations

• SHARE Argues that Members Should Be Included in Incentive Pay

• SHARE and UMass Memorial Sign Improved Redeployment Agreement

• About Covid Pay (scroll down in MLK Day post)

• The New Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) Benefits

• Welcome and SHARE Membership Information Now Online for Eligible New Employees

• SHARE Member Spotlights

  • Samantha Roy, Patient Services Rep

  • Anthony Baidoo, Radiologic Technologist

  • Sabrine Aakil, Medical Lab Technician

• An Open Letter to US Senators about Hazard Pay

• A Report from SHARE’s First Frontline Leader Fellow, Kona Enders

• SHARE Lead Organizer Janet Wilder Wins Cushing-Gavin Award

• SHARE Honored Martin Luther King Day

• 2021 Union Dues Rates

• And, (very belatedly, if you’re just now seeing it) best Holiday Wishes from the SHARE Staff!

Blog Digest: OT Opportunities for SHARE Members, SHARE Opposes Contracting Out, and More . . .

Help Needed: Want to Pick Up Overtime or Extra Time?

UMass Memorial needs help during this COVID-19 surge. Right now, they need SHARE members who are willing to pick up extra shifts doing:

• One-to-one patient observing for COVID patients

• Testing Tent staff, for swabbing or registering patients

• “Runners” for the Emergency Rooms –patient care experience needed, so this role is good for PCAs, Techs, LPNs, etc.

• Visitor Screeners

• Patient Transport

Voluntary Redeployment is good for SHARE Members

SHARE has been encouraging management to look for volunteers, rather than redeploy people. Redeployment worked well for some SHARE members last spring, but other SHARE members had a tough time with the schedule they were redeployed to, or with what kind of work they were asked to do. The voluntary approach is really working well for the one-to-one patient observer work, so we hope there are lots of volunteers for these roles too. We know lots of people want to help, and lots of people are happy to have the extra money! Application details here.

SHARE Opposes Contracting-Out of Food Service and Housekeeping at Health Alliance

UMass Memorial recently told current Health Alliance food service workers and housekeepers that they would soon become employees of Sodexo. Those employees will all have jobs, with health insurance, and their pay rate will stay the same, UMass Memorial announced. These staff are not represented by any union, but all of us in the UMass Memorial community should be concerned by this move. Read more . . .

Employee Symptom Reporting: Tips and Tricks to Remember

The daily symptom tracker started out on an honor system, but now UMass Memorial will pursue disciplinary action for employees who don’t use it daily. This month, disciplinary action began in some departments. The policy says that if you miss reporting twice out of ten work shifts, you can get in trouble. Most of the meetings with SHARE members so far have focused on how to remember to do the symptom reporting. People want to do it, they just forget. Discover strategies and tools to help you remember here.

Employee Symptom Reporting: Tips and Tricks to Remember

The daily symptom tracker started out on an honor system, but now UMass Memorial will pursue disciplinary action for employees who don’t use it daily. This month, disciplinary action began in some departments. The policy says that if you miss reporting twice out of ten work shifts, you can get in trouble. 

Most of the meetings with SHARE members so far have focused on how to remember to do the symptom reporting. People want to do it, they just forget. Here are some tips to help you stay on top of your own reporting: 

• You can set an alarm on your phone to remind you – either for a certain time, or when you get to a certain location, like within a mile of the hospital. 

• SHARE members have loaded the symptom reporting app onto their computer if they are having technical trouble with their phones. 

• One department manager created a reminder that pops up every day when the staff logs into their computers. 

• One SHARE Organizer tells people who think that technical difficulties are preventing their tracker from registering that they did it, to take a screen shot to show that they did it, just in case.  

We certainly hope that there will not be many more disciplinary meetings about remembering to do your symptom reporting! 

SHARE Opposes Contracting-Out of Food Service and Housekeeping at Health Alliance

UMass Memorial recently told current Health Alliance food service workers and housekeepers that they would soon become employees of Sodexo. Those employees will all have jobs, with health insurance, and their pay rate will stay the same, UMass Memorial announced. 

These staff are not represented by any union, but all of us in the UMass Memorial community should be concerned by this move. We assume that moving staff off the UMass Memorial payroll is a cost-saving measure. How do you save money, doing the same work plus making a profit for the company, without cutting spending on wages and benefits? 

Contracting-out is not new at UMass Memorial. When the Med Center contracted out Dialysis, affected SHARE members were promised job security and minimal changes. However, within months they were told they would have to move to hold onto their jobs. Information Services (IS) and Central Processing were contracted out and then brought back in house for quality reasons. The SHARE Biomedical Engineers fought contracting out by showing that they could save money while keeping their jobs in-house, though the hospital contracted them out in the end too. 

The middle of a pandemic is the wrong time to upend good, stable jobs for our lowest paid staff. As the Institute for Healthcare Improvement points out, it is possible to support “better care, better neighborhoods, better health – all while holding onto valued employees, many of whom may be part of our most vulnerable populations.”

Perhaps most importantly, housekeepers are crucial to patient care, particularly in the age of COVID, especially when they also have patient transport duties. Being a UMass Memorial employee means that you have loyalty only to the patients and the hospital, not to an outside company. 

Help Needed! Want to Pick Up Overtime or Extra Time?

UMass Memorial needs help during this COVID-19 surge. Right now, they need SHARE members who are willing to pick up extra shifts doing:

• One-to-one patient observing for COVID patients

• Testing Tent staff, for swabbing or registering patients

• “Runners” for the Emergency Rooms –patient care experience needed, so this role is good for PCAs, Techs, LPNs, etc.

• Visitor Screeners

• Patient Transport

how to apply

If you already filled out the volunteer survey for Patient Observers, you do NOT need to volunteer again. If you are interested and did not fill out that survey a few months ago, please send an email to LaborPoolNonProviders@umassmemorial.org. Include in your email:

• ·         Your name, title and department.

• ·         What roles you are possibly willing to do

• ·         What shifts and days you are usually available

• ·         How to reach you – cell phone, email, etc.

Voluntary Redeployment is good for SHARE Members

SHARE has been encouraging management to look for volunteers, rather than redeploy people. Redeployment worked well for some SHARE members last spring, but other SHARE members had a tough time with the schedule they were redeployed to, or with what kind of work they were asked to do. The voluntary approach is really working well for the one-to-one patient observer work, so we hope there are lots of volunteers for these roles too. We know lots of people want to help, and lots of people are happy to have the extra money!

SHARE Blog Digest: Incentive Pay, Covid Pay, Redeployment, and More

Happy MLK Day! We encourage SHARE members to take time today to reflect on the importance of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy to our country and even our own union. His ideas and example remain essential to SHARE as we face our own challenges today. 

COVID Vaccine 

SHARE Reps continue to report that UMass Memorial’s COVID vaccination process is going well. Some have declined for the moment, but most Reps have gotten at least the first shot so far. At a recent SHARE Rep meeting, only a few people had stories of a co-worker feeling sick afterwards. Hospital management tells us only about 10% of employees are declining the vaccine. 

The SHARE organizing team is seeing many positive signs in the broader roll-out of the vaccine, too. Our parent union, AFSCME, together with the country’s other three largest public sector unions, recently sponsored a virtual town hall, summarized here, with leading scientific experts, academics and government officials to address the safety, efficacy and equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines.  

SHARE Argues that Members Should Be Included in Incentive Pay 

It’s a good news, bad news situation: when incentive pay for RNs who pick up extra shifts in some COVID units got extended, SHARE Respiratory Therapists were added (good news), but SHARE PCAs who work side-by-side with the RNs, did not (bad news). Read more . . .  

SHARE and UMass Memorial Medical Center Sign Improved Redeployment Agreement  

SHARE leaders and management have spent a lot of time talking about the redeployments last Spring, so that we could try to make things better for SHARE members during subsequent surges. (See SHARE members survey responses here.) We now have an agreement that creates a voluntary float pool to cover the need for one-to-one patient observers on COVID floors, strengthens the commitment to voluntary redeployment in other areas, and provides members a process for declining a redeployment assignment. One key change from the previous surge is that if a SHARE member declines to be redeployed to any job, then they will be placed on furlough. The furlough process will be more clear this time, and the SHARE member still has the option to use their paid time off or go on unemployment. Read more . . . 

COVID Pay 

The hospital has started COVID pay again, going back to November 1st. This pay is designed to make it so that employees don’t have to use their own accrued time for hospital-acquired COVID. Unfortunately, the new policy doesn’t cover as much this time, less than COVID pay last Spring. Now COVID pay covers two weeks of missed work, if you were infected at work.  

Staff who get COVID are to work with Employee Health and file for Workers’ Compensation. If Employee Health determines that you were infected at work, then the hospital pays you for the first five-day waiting period, and then they “top off” your Workers’ Comp pay during the second week of leave in order to make your pay whole. 

SHARE is urging management to re-instate COVID pay for absences due to COVID testing or illness, regardless of where you got infected. SHARE members should not have to use their own time. We want to encourage people to do the right thing and stay home if they have symptoms, which is tough to do if you don’t have any time in your bank. 

More Updates on the SHARE Website 

• Including member spotlights on Patient Services Rep Samantha Roy and Radiologic Technologist Anthony Baidoo 

• Information about the New Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave Benefits, and 

• Welcome and membership information for eligible new employees. (Incidentally, since there are sometimes gaps between the hospital’s employee information and what we have on file at SHARE, we’d love your help making sure that new co-workers are connected to our union, and to emails like this one.) 

Thank you on this day, as every day, for everything you do to help keep our union, our hospital, and our community strong. 

SHARE and UMass Memorial Medical Center Sign Improved Redeployment Agreement

SHARE leaders and management have spent a lot of time talking about the redeployments last Spring, so that we could try to make things better for SHARE members during subsequent surges. (See SHARE members survey responses here.)  We recently signed an agreement that includes these improvements:

Making One-to-Ones Voluntary 

The first big improvement was for union and management to create voluntary float pool to cover the needs for one-to-ones on COVID floors. We heard from SHARE PCAs from the clinics that it was difficult to get dropped cold into the role of a patient observer, especially if they had to work a different shift from their usual. By asking for SHARE member volunteers ahead of time, the volunteers were able to pick up extra time or over-time at times that work for them and their families instead. 

The Current Status of Redeployment 

The hospital hopes to continue to keep clinics open during this Winter’s COVID-19 surge. At the moment, senior leadership has no plans to redeploy SHARE members from ambulatory clinics to other parts of the hospital. They caution that things could change, but they are hoping they don’t. Only a few procedure areas, like HVIL (Heart and Vascular Intervention Lab), are currently slated to redeploy to other areas of the hospital. 

Improvements in the Agreement 

Nevertheless, it makes sense to put into place as good a process for redeployment as possible for SHARE members. SHARE and UMass Memorial Medical Center signed an agreement this week that contains significant progress: 

• Liaisons from SHARE will connect with the HR Labor Pool team to help with redeployment plans. 

• Voluntary redeployment is the goal. If more people are needed than there are volunteers, they will be selected by reverse seniority. 

• Everyone who is willing to stay in their home department or be redeployed will have work at their current pay rate and hours. 

• The union-management Labor Pool Problem Solving group will case manage situations where a SHARE member declines a redeployment – less of a ”one-strike-you’re-out” approach, or where someone is asked to work a different shift. 

• If a SHARE member declines to be redeployed to any job, then they will be placed on furlough. The furlough process will be more clear this time, though the SHARE member still has the option to use their paid time off or go on unemployment. 

SHARE is pleased with the agreement, and the way the union-management collaboration created it. 

You can read the full agreement online. Please contact SHARE with any questions or concerns.

Incentive Pay Program Extended: Good News & Bad News

It’s a good news, bad news situation: when incentive pay for RNs who pick up extra shifts in some COVID units got extended, SHARE Respiratory Therapists were added (good news), but SHARE PCAs who work side-by-side with the RNs, did not (bad news).

Starting over the holidays, RNs who signed up for extra shifts in certain units were paid “incentive pay” of $100 for four hours extra. UMass Memorial Medical Center management says that they started the incentive pay when RN open shifts were threatening to cause them to have to close beds and turn patients away because of a shortage of licensed staff.  

“It’s a slap in the face . . .”

— more than one SHARE member

Even though this was not hazard pay, some SHARE members felt that this incentive pay program sent the message that their work with COVID patients was valued less than RNs’ work. 

The temporary RN incentive pay program was scheduled to expire on Saturday, January 16th. However, nursing leadership decided on Friday to extend it. In addition, a new program that offers a pay incentive to respiratory therapists who pick up extra shifts was created. No new program was created for the inpatient PCAs. 

Over the last 2 weeks, SHARE has advocated for SHARE jobs to be included in incentive pay. In particular, SHARE members who work side-by-side RNs who are getting incentive pay, such as PCAs and Respiratory Therapists, should be included. SHARE and management leaders discussed the incentive pay at the Labor Management Partnership Council meeting earlier this month. SHARE Representatives like Kona Enders, PCA, argued that the incentive pay for PCAs would make sure patients get all the care they deserve, support RNs where they are stretched, and show respect for PCAs' role. The incentive would especially help where PCAs are working really short, like the EDs and some ICUs. Joel Masley, Respiratory Therapist at University, described in detail the staffing challenges he and his co-workers are facing: Respiratory Therapists play a critical role in treating COVID-19 patients, and the department cannot hire travelers because they cannot find any who have the critical care experience.

SHARE applauds Medical Center leadership for creating a temporary incentive program to encourage Respiratory Therapists to pick up extra shifts. At the same time, we urge management to include PCAs in the program for RNs, so as to create a unified team of caretakers on those units most struggling with coverage for COVID patients. SHARE believes that management made the wrong decision by not including the PCAs on those units.

Mass PFML Personal Medical Leave Now in Effect

As of January 1st, most SHARE members became eligible to take medical leave for themselves leave under the Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML). The PFML also now provides paid leave to care for certain military-related family leaves, and in the event of a birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child..

The PFML is a new law in Massachusetts that is being paid for by payroll deductions that began last year. You can learn more on the Massachusetts PFML website, or find more information on the SHARE website, including answers to Frequently Asked Questions about PFML and Short Term Disability.

Additionally, as part of this program, paid family leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition will become available on July 1, 2021.

Member Spotlight: Anthony Baidoo

Radiologic Technologist, Marlborough Hospital, 12/28/2020

In the beginning of Covid-19, we did not have adequate PPE. The demand from COVID overshadowed the supply. It wasn’t that the hospital didn’t want to provide it- it is that the manufacturers had to catch up with the demand. So, we had to ration what we had. We had to reuse PPE or use UV lights to kill the germs. It’s better now that we know better about COVID than previous, and now management is prepared better than the previous. We, radiologic technologists, are also more mentally prepared and that is helpful. 

We were scared at first with the first lockdown for Covid-19. However, through persistence on the job, we came out of the darkness. The initial lockdowns made the cases go down so the workload reduced a bit, but now that it is picking up it is a different world that we’re going into. 

One day, I went with a colleague into a patient's room. There was a gentleman who came in for a Covid test. He was coughing and had a shortness of breath. We told him we were here to perform x-rays on his chest. He responded by saying “I regret telling you this, but I have to tell you that initially I didn’t think Covid-19 was real. But now with the way I feel I know it’s real.” I want to share this story so that people know it is real. You might survive, but there are others who might not. But if together we accept that, together we can overcome it. 

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I have been a Radiologic Technologist for 10 years now. Before, I lived in Ghana where I was an accountant in a mining company. There, I was lucky to be elected a union leader. I learned that there is a difference between how they manage and what the employees want. Their job is to manage and save the company money and help make the most profit possible for the company. However, the union is able to give the workers a voice at the table as well. 

Before, there was not a union in Marlborough Hospital. Many of my coworkers did not understand what benefits there are to a union. However, I let them know that it is good, no matter how, because the union is a bigger force than individuals. The same way, we have brooms from individual palm fronds. When you get a lot of them you put them together you can use  them to sweep. If there is one, you can easily break it, but when you put them all together, you cannot break it.

There is a proverb in my country that explains this: one person’s hand cannot cover the whole sky. Only together can we really make a difference. This both explains the importance of unions and the importance of working together to defeat Covid-19. 

SHARE Member Spotlight: Samantha Roy

Patient Access Services Rep, 12/12/20

For a Patient Access Service Representative in the Cardiology/Vascular Surgery department, all scheduling calls are urgent. Oftentimes, people can be agitated just because they have just had a bad experience with another person. When people are angry, it is helpful to be patient and to do as much as you can for them. When you answer the phone and have a bad attitude, it is not helpful to the patient. When you are happy on the phone you can feel them smile on the phone. I like to treat people the way I want to be treated. It definitely has its ups and downs, but I try my best to help people in the best way possible.  

Sometimes, the patients calling have cancer or are caring for a loved one who has cancer, it can be hard to tell them about not having an appointment available ASAP. I usually just try to ask a lot of questions to ask how they are doing and making them feel heard. It is really nice to know that someone cares no matter what. When you are sick, you don't want to be transferred to ten different people, but we just try to fix it and make it as easy of a process possible.  

In the beginning of the pandemic, it was difficult to get people scheduled because of the change in phone systems and how quickly everything happened. We used to not have computers or access at home, so it was an adjustment. Also, we have to now ask patients to get tested before coming in and that can be really difficult for patients who have Alzheimer’s or any other kind of disability. Although the process has become a bit more complicated, I like being home and I get to still talk to my coworkers, my friends, on phone or on Zoom. Also, it is much healthier that we are all at home and can stay safe. My son is twelve and he's online too. He's working back-and-forth with the process, too. It has been an adjustment, but we are adjusting together and staying safe together. It is just much healthier to be home and be safe. It is just the way of life right now and is the safest way.  

I am used to changes, though. In the beginning of my career, we used to use paper and then the system changed. The experience of getting used to a new system was quite hectic. I often book up to eighty appointments a day.  

When booking appointments during Covid-19, a patient was trying to get her heart monitor and she could not come to the hospital to pick it up. She ordered it and UPS, due to the pandemic, sent it late and it was broken. She had to return it and then she was told she was going to get another one. Unfortunately, due to the delay she had to go to the ER because of her inability to monitor herself. I followed up with her and made sure that she was seen by our doctors and checked in with her to make sure that she was okay. I made sure that she knew that I was there for her and if she needed anything she could always call. I wanted to make sure that she had someone to call and talk to especially because she had no one.  

I always think that if my mom called someone and did not get the help that she needed, I would be mad. I want to make sure that I don’t do that to anyone and not make anyone angry. Even if I don’t have much time, I want to do as much as possible for whoever I am speaking to and make sure they are able to reach who they need to reach. If I can fix it, I am going to try to fix it. It might take longer, but it should be done right the first time. Sometimes patients will call and they accidentally have reached the wrong person. I try to make sure that I do whatever I am able to do — either connect them with the right office or give them the number myself — especially for patients who don’t know how to look that up themselves.  

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I am glad to be a part of this union; it feels great to have someone that I can text for advice and have someone be there for us and to support us. I saw a letter from the union about letting us work from home and that is so important in case any of us gets sick at this time. The support is huge so that I can do the best at my job especially during Covid-19.  

I try to let everyone around me know that they can call the union if they are having issues. It feels good to be there for other people at work and outside of work. I like to follow my heart and just do what I feel is right as a first responder. As I say, I’m Sam-I-Am. I know who I am, and I like to do what feels right.