Contract Negotiations: Opening Statements & Personal Introductions

After meeting twice for training and ground-rules discussions, SHARE & UMass Memorial management’s negotiating teams met last Thursday for our first official negotiating session.

Current Highlights

The SHARE 2022 Contract Negotiations Team: (kneeling, left-right): Kim Latrobe, Kellie Morton, Tracy O’Donnell; (middle row): Kathy Girouard, Jana Hollingsworth, Deb Clark, Christean Hughes; (back row): Janet Wilder, Rita Caputo, Deb Largesse, Jay Hagan, Deb Engvall, Carol Hehir, Kona Enders; (not pictured): AJ Iaconi, Armon Rad, Elisabeth Szanto, Kirk Davis, Tameka McDaniel-Vasquez

• Both teams opened with introductory statements (described below). SHARE’s opening statement focused on the results from our series of surveys earlier in the year, and on the need, now more than ever, for meaningful raises.

• The teams got to know each other better with introductions from each individual negotiator, in which they described how long they’ve been working with UMass Memorial and/or SHARE, what they do in their current job role, and a bit about their life and interests outside of work. See the list of negotiators below.

• Both teams are now preparing financial presentations as a prospective topic for the next negotiation session.

SHARE Opening Statement: Partnership & Hard Conversations

Lead SHARE Negotiator Janet Wilder kicked off the opening statements by providing a broad overview of SHARE’s current relationship with UMass Memorial and our developing Labor Management Partnership, which has worked strategically to align around our common interests. This includes Unit Based Teams, and lobbying together against the expansion of Mass General Brigham’s into Central Massachusetts, a program designed to poach primarily well-insured patients to its own clinics. Janet also pointed out that although SHARE will, as always, maintain respectful discussions, she warned that partnership isn’t about “niceness,” that instead it lays the groundwork to have hard conversations, especially around the issues we would be raising in negotiations.

SHARE Opening Statement: Member Priorities

Based on countless conversations among SHARE members and SHARE leaders, as well as the 4069 completed surveys, Janet described that what’s really clear is that:

1.      Raises are the top priority for members—they always are, but they overshadow SHARE members’ other interests more than usual;

2.      Members have a strong interest in retaining and recruiting co-workers, an issue seen as very interconnected with raises;

3.      SHARE members want to describe their experience working through Covid;

4.      Benefits (especially Health Insurance and the pension), and

5.      Career Opportunities remain extremely important.

Beyond that, there is a basket of issues that are extremely important to large segments of the SHARE membership, including Work-from-Home issues, Unit Based Teams, etc.

Bringing SHARE Member Voice Directly into Negotiations

To round out the Opening Statement, members of the SHARE negotiating team each read from the SHARE Survey Report, which summarizes the results from all four SHARE surveys. SHARE members made a number of powerful comments in the surveys, which the Negotiating Team read aloud as well. We will post that report soon.

UMass Memorial Management Opening Statement

Mike Pacinda delivered the opening statement on behalf of UMass Memorial management, acknowledging challenges that confront the hospital and the SHARE members who work there. He began by crediting front-line staff and management. “Things feel different now . . . they are different now. We all know what we’ve been through,” he said. “Since this pandemic started, people have been working extraordinarily hard in trying times and with new processes.”

Mike went on to describe additional work that he has personally been involved with in partnership with SHARE, including work throughout the pandemic to establish systems for redeployment and the hospital’s labor pools, when some SHARE members had to shift from their regular jobs to serve as screeners and prescription couriers, among other things.

He also recognized the hard conversations we had around vaccine mandate, where SHARE worked in partnership to help SHARE members get access to the vaccine as well as answers to their questions, while at the same time objecting to some of the ways the mandate was implemented: “that was hard for a lot of people,” Mike said.

Which brings us, Mike said, to the perfect storm we’re in now: the short staffing and overtime mandates, people leaving jobs in record numbers, and the unprecedented leaves due to Covid.  “Managers aren’t immune to this either, working hard to keep positions and schedules filled,” he said, describing the recruitment challenges. “We all really want to tail off the use of travelers and focus on full-time staff.”

At same time, Mike maintained that the SHARE-UMass Memorial partnership has helped us get through this . . . and that we would be in a much more difficult place without partnership, without the consistent transparency, bringing together subject matter experts, updates on Covid numbers, redeployment & problem solving teams. Those helped UMass Memorial avoid layoffs and furloughs. Mike described how he spoke daily or more with SHARE leaders. That, coupled with our overlapping interests – interest in fair equitable raises, quick process, maintaining respectful relationships, and a sustainable contract that strengthens the hospital for the future, serve as an important foundation for these negotiations. “My hope is that we have enough tools here, plus trust respect and confidence, that we can address many of these issues and resolve this contract in a way that is positive for both parties,” Mike said. “The management team looks forward to getting going in earnest.”

Who’s Who on the Negotiating Teams

Mike Pacinda (Lead Management Negotiator): Senior Labor and Employee Relations Specialist

Janet Wilder (Lead SHARE Negotiator): SHARE Organizer

Shannon Taylor: Human Resources Business Partner

Karen Pendergast: Human Resources Business Partner

Jackie Baronowski: Director, Community Medical Group Billing

Sue McCabe: Vice President of Operations, Community Medical Group

Cassandra Trice: Director of Registration Services

Deb Engvall: SHARE Organizer

Kellie Morton: Medical Assistant, Outpatient Oncology & SHARE Organizer

Kirk Davis: SHARE Organizer

Mabel Romeo: Director, Health Information Management

Christean Hughes: Accounts Receivable Specialist II, Community Medical Group Billing & SHARE Executive Board

Kim Latrobe: Technologist, Surgical Vascular Lab & SHARE Rep

Donna Vickery: Human Resources Business Partner

Dena Briggs: Human Resources Business Partner

Joy Cournoyer: Director, Single Billing Office

Jana Hollingsworth: SHARE Organizer

Zailee Estrada: Director, Patient Access

Nick Potvin: Nurse Manager 3 East

Rachel Carragher: Manager, Respiratory Care

Kathy Girouard: Senior Coding Specialist, Vascular Lab & SHARE Union Treasurer

Deb Largesse: SHARE Organizer

Tracy O’Donnell: Senior Medical Administrative Secretary, Memorial Hospital Medicine & SHARE Executive Board

Stephanie Doan-Soares: UMass Memorial Administrative Fellow, Anchor Mission program

Debra Clark: Unit Secretary, Clinical Decision Unit & SHARE Union Secretary

Rita Caputo: Ambulatory Services Rep, Primary Care Clinic & SHARE Union Co-President, University Campus

Jay Hagan: CT Technologist & SHARE Union Co-President, Memorial Campus

Ian Copland: Financial Planning

Kona Enders: Patient Care Associate, 3 West & SHARE Organizer

Carol Hehir: SHARE Organizer

Shavel Aldolphe: Senior Director, Ambulatory Operations

AJ Iaconi: SHARE Organizer

Tameka McDaniel-Vasquez: Financial Clearance Specialist, Insurance Verification & SHARE Executive Board

Armon Rad: Lead Registration Rep & SHARE Executive Board

Elisabeth Szanto: SHARE Organizer

Partnership Office: Will Erickson, Crystal Swenson & Steph Pepi

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Learn more

See all of the published news about negotiations in blog posts labeled #Negotiations

University SHARE Contract Drop-In TODAY

University Campus Info Table

Today, Friday, July 8

11:30am-1pm

OUTSIDE, near the Prescription Center (old west entrance)

Join SHARE organizers today to talk about the upcoming negotiations with UMass Memorial. Share what matters most to you, learn how you can help advocate for a strong contract, and pick up a pin to show your support.

The SHARE 2022 Contract Negotiations Team: (kneeling, left-right): Kim Latrobe, Kellie Morton, Tracy O’Donnell; (middle row): Kathy Girouard, Jana Hollingsworth, Deb Clark, Christean Hughes; (back row): Janet Wilder, Rita Caputo, Deb Largesse, Jay Hagan, Deb Engvall, Carol Hehir, Kona Enders; (not pictured): AJ Iaconi, Armon Rad, Elisabeth Szanto, Kirk Davis, Tameka McDaniel-Vasquez

Blog Digest: Negotiations & Elections Updates

SHARE Executive Board & Representative Nominations Are Now Open

The nomination period for SHARE Representative and open SHARE Executive Board positions is now open through July 12. Official notice and details have been sent to all SHARE members at the home address on file in the SHARE office. On the SHARE website, you can also find a copy of the notice and learn more more about the role of a SHARE Representative.

Don’t forget: because the election will be electronic this year, please make sure that your personal contact information is up-to-date. And, if you haven’t yet joined SHARE, do so now! Only SHARE members can vote. It’s easy to sign up here with SHARE’s new virtual membership card.

Contract Negotiations Update, Week 2 of Training & Ground Rules

Current Highlights 

• Teams from SHARE and UMass Memorial continue our weekly meeting schedule for Contract Negotiations. This week, both teams will deliver opening statements.

• Last week was the second of two sessions facilitated by professor Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld to lay the groundwork for our process. The teams worked to set ground rules for negotiations, and to name likely subcommittees that would focus on specific subjects.  

• Dr. Cutcher-Gershenfeld has told us that leaders at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) have shown interest in the innovative ways that SHARE and UMass Memorial negotiate together, and have asked to observe some of our discussions.  

• Read the full post about last week’s session . . .

What are these negotiators scheming about?! Read about our pre=negotiation activities in this week’s update.

2022 Nominations & Elections Notice

The nomination period for SHARE Representatives and open SHARE Executive Board positions is now open through July 12.

The below information has been sent to all SHARE members at the home address on file in the SHARE office.

View or download a printer-friendly version here, which includes a full list of open positions in each region.

Visit this previous blog post to learn more more about the role of a SHARE Representative.

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Would you like to be a SHARE leader?

Nominations Open June 27 – July 12, 2022

for SHARE Union Representatives & Executive Board Members

To run for Union Rep or Executive Board Member

1. You must have been a dues-paying SHARE member for at least 6 months prior to the election.

2. You must be nominated in writing by a SHARE member (either a co-worker or yourself).

3. Current SHARE Reps who wish to continue to be Reps need to be nominated again this year.

To nominate someone for Union Rep or Executive Board Member

1. Please send nominations by email to share.elections@theshareunion.org; or by fax to (508) 929-4040; or by U.S. mail to SHARE, 50 Lake Ave, Worcester MA 01604.

2. Nominations should include:

• the name, department, and phone number of the person being nominated;

• the position for which they are being nominated; and

• the name and phone number of the person submitting the nomination.

3. Nominations must arrive at the SHARE office by noon on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. We cannot accept late nominations.

4. Nominees will be offered the opportunity to decline the nomination. Anyone who does not decline is then a candidate.

Descriptions of the different roles

Below are brief descriptions of the roles of Union Reps and Executive Board Members. If you want to talk about what it would be like to be a SHARE Rep or to be on the Executive Board, or if you have other questions, please call the SHARE office at 508-929-4020, or talk to someone you know who is involved with SHARE.

SHARE Reps: There is at least one Union Rep for every 25-50 SHARE members. A Rep is a contact person for their area. Union Reps get training from SHARE to move information between co-workers and union leadership. They can also get training in helping co-workers solve problems (for example, with discipline or work schedules) if they want to. Reps are elected for a 1-year term.

SHARE Executive Board Members: Executive Board members have responsibility for the whole union, and in particular for their region (several hundred people). They make decisions about the direction of our union and participate in contract negotiations. They serve for 2-year terms. There are 13 positions on the SHARE Executive Board:

• 4 Officers: A Co-President from University-connected locations and a Co-President from Memorial-connected locations; a Secretary and a Treasurer elected at large (by all SHARE members).

• 9 Regional Executive Board Members: based on what department they are in.

Election: in late July if there are too many nominees for the number of positions

The election will be held by electronic ballot, hosted professionally by ElectionBuddy.com, an online voting service that meets the standards set by the U.S. Department of Labor and by our parent union, AFSCME.

ElectionBuddy will send a link to your cell phone or email account for you to vote securely online. You can provide your cell phone number and/or personal email address, or request a ballot by mail, by emailing SHARE.Elections@theshareunion.org or talking to a SHARE staff organizer. The SHARE office phone number is 508-929-4020. If we don’t have a cell phone or personal email address for you then we will only be able to provide ElectionBuddy with your work email.

If you don’t get email from SHARE regularly, please provide us with a cell phone

number or personal email address . . . use the QR code to the right to learn how →

You must be a SHARE member to vote, to nominate someone, or to run for office.

If you have not yet signed a SHARE membership card, please go to www.sharehospitalunion.org/join

or talk to a SHARE Rep or Organizer.

(508) 929-4020 – SHARE, 50 Lake Avenue, Worcester MA 01604 –www.sharehospitalunion.org

Positions Open for Nomination in 2022

All SHARE Representative positions are up for election every year. Executive Board positions are up for election every two years. See below for the “even year” positions up for election in 2022. Note that there are also two vacant “odd year” positions which are up for election in 2022.*

What is my region?

Rep and Executive Board positions are divided by location and by region. Your region is based on the kind of department you are in, not what kind of job you do. For example, a secretary in a technical department is in the Technical region, and an LPN in a clinic is in the Ambulatory region. If you have questions, please email share.elections@theshareunion.org or leave a message at the SHARE office at 508-929-4020.

Contract Negotiations Update: Week 2 of Training & Ground Rules

Current Highlights 

• Teams from SHARE and UMass Memorial continue our weekly meeting schedule for Contract Negotiations. This week was the second of two sessions facilitated by professor Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld to lay the groundwork for our process. (Read about our first session here.) 

• The teams worked to set ground rules for negotiations, and to name likely subcommittees that would focus on specific subjects.  

• Dr. Cutcher-Gershenfeld has told us that leaders at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) have shown interest in the innovative ways that SHARE and UMass Memorial negotiate together, and have asked to observe some of our discussions.  

Hopes and Fears, Speed and Money

Last week, each team independently assessed the current union-management relations, and named its hopes and fears for negotiations. During this session, Dr. Cutcher-Gershenfeld shared those results.  

Developing a Winning Strategy : The teams had some “fun with a purpose,” as Dr. Cutcher-Gershenfeld puts it, participating in “The Stakeholder Bargaining Game,” where the objective is to bargain for as much money as you can get. The outcome of our game was typical, we were told, and showed that groups tend to come out better financially if they choose a more cooperative stance rather than a coercive one. The group that came out with the most money – by far – was the most cooperative, and demonstrated that the winning strategy is to change the rules of the game. 

There are a lot of interests to consider. Both teams clearly want to continue our approach to partnership, both want to make our hospital successful, and both agree that the Standards of Respect should be more deeply experienced in the day-to-day by all caregivers.  

At the top of our lists, both teams clearly indicated a strong desire to come to an agreement about raises, recognizing how rapidly the economy is changing, and the importance of retaining and recruiting strong staff for our hospital.

Why is FMCS interested in how we negotiate? 

The FMCS is an independent government agency whose mission is to preserve and promote labor-management peace and cooperation. Though they encourage Labor-Management partnerships and interest-based bargaining methods, those remain relatively uncommon. SHARE and UMass Memorial’s experiences with partnership show that the successes of our strategy continue to build. And we’re continuing to pioneer new ideas.  

Often in bargaining, developing a broader perspective can help drive consensus . . . as negotiator William Ury puts it, two sides often come to agreement by “going to the ‘third side.’” One new development we’re exploring is to get more direct input from patients, consulting with UMass Memorial’s own Patient-Family Advisory Council as a way of aligning our interests and truly making our hospital the best place to get and give care.  

What’s Next? 

Next Thursday, both sides will deliver their introductory statements. And, we will spend time doing individual introductions – we find that improving relationships makes for more productive discussions and better conclusions. 

SHARE Digest -- Union Elections, Negotiations, Kronos, UBT's, and Juneteenth

Get Ready for Elections

In accordance with our union’s constitution, all SHARE members will soon be sent a mailing to their home addresses with details about the upcoming Rep and Executive Board nomination and election process. Learn about the role of a SHARE Representative here.

The mailing will be sent today, Friday, so you should receive it early next week. Because the election will be electronic this year, please make sure that your personal contact information is up-to-date. And, if you haven’t yet joined SHARE, do so now! Only SHARE members can vote. It’s easy to sign up here with SHARE’s new virtual membership card.

Through a variety of exercises, conversations, and simulations, the teams explored how the different negotiation styles bring about different results.

Contract Negotiations Have Begun

Yesterday, SHARE sat down with UMass Memorial management in our first official negotiations event. The session was facilitated by Brandeis professor Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, who taught the teams about Interest Based Bargaining (IBB). Interest-based bargaining differs from traditional negotiations in that both sides work to become joint problem solvers, and recognizes that we can work to maximize our shared interests for mutual gain. Read more about our first session and the IBB principles we will be using over the coming weeks as we work toward an agreement about our new contract policies, raises, and benefits.

Kronos Update

According to UMass Memorial, it has completed roughly three quarters of the 25,000 reported Kronos discrepancies, and expects to complete those corrections in July. Payroll will then run a full audit to capture any unreported discrepancies and correct those before turning full attention to correcting the PTO accruals. In the meanwhile, the accruals will continue to be wrong — and you shouldn’t be denied time off as a result of your current balance. SHARE is urging the hospital to provide individualized information to each member about how Kronos impacted their pay and what corrections have been made. And we’re advocating that overpaid members should have the option to re-pay the hospital using Earned Time rather than cash. Read more . . .

Unit Based Teams Peer-Learning Event

Roughly twenty-five SHARE and management UBT Co-Leads met recently to learn about four different UBT projects and what has made them successful. Teams from Hahnemann Family Health Clinic, Inpatient Pharmacy, Rheumatology, and Respiratory presented at the event. Read more about their projects here. Participants at the event developed a list of worthwhile outcomes that resulted from their projects, including:

• Increased caregiver happiness,

• Increased productivity,

• Decreased wait times,

• Removal of waste,

• Teamwork & team building, and

• Standard work, built by the team who does that work themselves

Honoring Juneteenth

SHARE values the importance that June 19th holds in our national history. The day became a national holiday in 2021. Massachusetts followed to make Juneteenth a state holiday. Institutions including UMass Medical School, officially observe it as a paid day off. The holidays recognized by UMass Memorial are a subject of bargaining, and SHARE’s negotiating team plans to advocate for the day to be recognized as a holiday in our contract as well.

Contract Negotiations Are Underway

On Thursday, June 23rd, SHARE and UMass Memorial officially kicked off negotiations toward our next Contract Bargaining Agreement with a joint-training between the SHARE Team and the Med Center management Team.

Current Highlights

• The first two sessions are being facilitated by Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, a professor at Brandeis who studies Labor-management partnerships. Joel has worked with unions and management in healthcare and other industries, and has a history of helping SHARE and UMass Memorial work through negotiations. Dr. Cutcher-Gershenfeld is currently teaching both teams about Interest Based Bargaining.

• Negotiations are currently scheduled to take place weekly, four hours a day, every Thursday

• We heard from staff that the top bargaining priorities are: pay, followed by respect. SHARE members have a variety of other interests, but it’s clear that we need to keep the health insurance and other benefits strong. And it’s clear that SHARE members often feel burned out and unappreciated (see more highlights of the survey here).

• SHARE is also paying close attention to what’s happening with other union negotiations, including our sister SHARE Union at Marlborough hospital, as well as our neighboring MNA unions, both at Memorial (which has already reached a Tentative Agreement with the hospital) and University (which has not yet)

About the Teams

SHARE Union Co-Presidents Jay Hagan (Memorial Campus) and Rita Caputo (University Campus) at the table

Roughly forty people attended the Interest Based Bargaining training with Dr. Cutcher-Gershenfeld, including frontline managers, Human Resources Business Partners, representatives from the Partnership Office, the SHARE Executive Board, and the SHARE organizing staff. The lead negotiator for hospital management will be Michael Pacinda, a senior Labor Relations specialist at UMass Memorial; Lead Organizer Janet Wilder will again coordinate the team for SHARE.

Both lead negotiators described the difficulty of negotiating in a moment like this one, when hospitals everywhere are short-handed and caregivers — including SHARE members and managers — are exhausted. And, at the same time, both described the heightened importance of this negotiations to do something good and real and important in the face of that challenge. Janet Wilder encouraged the negotiators to dig into this in a curious way: “We’re more likely to come out with better answers to things if we bring joy and fun to this,” she said.

A History Lesson & Our historical Moment

Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld has helped to lead large-scale change initiatives in public and private sectors in Australia, Bermuda, Canada, England, Iceland, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand, Panama, and the United States . . . including at previous negotiations between SHARE and UMass Memorial

Dr. Cutcher-Gershenfeld described that there’s real importance to what we’re doing . . . that SHARE and UMass Memorial are pioneering an uncommon model of partnership, one that has drawn national attention, including from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services leadership in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Cutcher-Gershenfeld opened with the story of a pivotal moment when Ford and the United Auto Workers Union met to negotiate and realized they would have to do something untraditional, working together in ways that they never had before, or they would almost certainly face the catastrophic collapse of their company. (They adopted an IBB model for negotiations and came back strong; meanwhile, GM and Chrysler continued as usual and were forced to file for bankruptcy.)

Learning IBB

There was an unprecedented amount of theatrical shouting in the initial session, which was a lot of fun and served its purpose . . . but wasn’t as productive as we expect our actual negotiations to be. Through a variety of exercises, conversations, and simulations, the teams explored how the different negotiation styles bring about different results.

The teams spent most of the session learning about and discussing the differences between traditional bargaining—which typically begins from strongly held positions and involves coercive forms of power, and Interest Based Bargaining — which aims toward mutual gains and win-win solutions. In IBB, teams follow a series of steps to mutually understand the facts of the current situation and understand the other side’s interests before proposing solutions to the problems.

What’s Next

The teams will meet again next Thursday, when each negotiator will introduce themselves individually, and, with Dr. Cutcher-Gershenfeld’s help, we’ll begin to “bargain about how to bargain,” reviewing and revising the agreements we’ve made in the past about ground rules, how we’ll develop consensus, and ways that we expect to discuss differences.

What Does a SHARE Rep Do?

SHARE leaders have a special role in our community. Together, we work to create one of the most important relationship networks in our hospital.

The main role of a SHARE Rep is to aid communication between members and the SHARE leadership. We continually share information to better understand what is happening across our workplaces, and to make our work better.

As a result, SHARE Reps do all kinds of things, depending on the needs and interests of our union and our members. Ultimately, if you become a SHARE Rep, you decide what to take on . . . each Rep has a different level of involvement. In the beginning, you should simply be prepared to meet new people, and to learn a lot of new things from others throughout the UMass Memorial community.

A SHARE Rep always has support. The SHARE organizing staff and experienced Reps are here to help. We provide training and individual coaching to help you develop new skills. Here’s a list of the kinds of projects that some SHARE Reps commonly do:

• Meet and develop relationships with every person in their work area

• Come to the monthly SHARE Rep Meetings

• Provide information to co-workers, and to the EBoard and Organizers

• Help other SHARE members to find help when they need it

• Improve work processes and solve departmental problems

• Lead and participate in Unit Based Teams

• Bake for events

• Participate in a web of support for other members in the unfortunate event of a layoff

• Serve as a “witness” at a disciplinary meeting for a member

• Distribute and collect surveys

• Sign up new members on membership cards

• Negotiate

There’s a whole lot more. The activities that SHARE Reps do are extremely important, and often a lot of fun. When new challenges arise, we figure things out together. And we know that important things get built just like anything else: one little brick at a time.

If you have questions about what SHARE reps do, please contact the SHARE Office (508-929-4020), or talk to a current SHARE rep.

Reminder & Time Change: Information Meeting TODAY

MEMORIAL CAMPUS CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS INFORMATION MEETING

outside the Memorial Amphitheater

Thursday, June 23

12:30-1:30

Note that, because of a scheduling conflict with our first negotiation session, we have moved the time of this information meeting back slightly.

Join the SHARE organizing staff to discuss the beginning of SHARE’s contract negotiations with UMass Memorial Hospital. We will describe SHARE’s priorities and answer any questions you may have. Also, we will have chocolates. 😎

June Kronos Update

SHARE organizers met recently with UMass Memorial to discuss payroll updates since the international takedown of Kronos in December of last year. (You can find more context and read previous SHARE updates here.) According to Sergio Melgar, UMass Memorial Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer: 

• Payroll has corrected roughly three quarters of the 25,000 reported discrepancies, and issued 5000 payments. (The average is 4 discrepancies per employee). They are currently resolving roughly 500-750 discrepancies per week. They expect to complete those corrections in July, and will then run a comprehensive computerized audit of the system. That audit should catch any Kronos discrepancies that were not reported by employees. Supervisors will have to double-check numbers against their department schedules. 

• As predicted, fixing the large, complex set of problems is taking many months. Many other businesses, municipal governments, and other institutions continue to be in the same boat. UMass Memorial’s challenge is heightened by outdated software and multiple sets of rules to follow (based on each union’s negotiated agreement, etc.). 

• Starting in August, attention will move to correcting the PTO. (In the meanwhile, the numbers in the system continue to be incorrect – your accruals balance should NOT be used to deny a vacation request). 

• Details about employees repaying the hospital for overpayment have not yet been decided. In general, we’re told that employees who owe money will be able to re-pay over about 10 weeks. Employees who want to pay back what they owe in one lump sum will have that option. Employees who recognize that they’ve been overpaid can volunteer to begin paying before the guidelines are established – contact payroll to discuss options. 

• Payroll aspires to have all PTO corrections completed and have all systems back to normal by the end of the 2022 calendar year. 

Meanwhile, SHARE is advocating for clearer communication. Some SHARE members are having a hard time determining whether Payroll has yet addressed the discrepancies they’ve submitted, or confirm whether they are on the list to get corrected. Some members were surprised to realize that the corrections had been made to their paychecks without their noticing.  

• SHARE urges UMass Memorial to report out to each employee whether they have been corrected and by how much, so that SHARE members can figure out of it they think it was done correctly. 

• SHARE supports the idea that SHARE members could repay any money owed through earned time instead of cash. 

Unit Based Teams Peer-Learning Event

Heidi Brazeau, SHARE UBT Co-Lead, describes to the virtual crowd how her department improved tracking the many different forms that patients bring for them to process at the Hahnemann Family Health Clinic

Earlier this month, twenty-plus UBT Co-Leads from SHARE and management met online to compare notes about what makes for a successful project. Four teams — Hahnemann Family Health Clinic, Inpatient Pharmacy, Rheumatology, and Respiratory — each presented about a project their team had undertaken. They described how the project made things easier for staff in their department, what it’s done to improve patient care, and why the department is better able to take pride in their work as a result. In each case, these particular teams chose to develop some kind of system for themselves that created standard work that suited the needs of their department.

Congratulations to each team for these successes! Check out the slides below for details about each. . . .

TODAY Virtual Contract Negotiations Information Meeting

Why: To discuss SHARE’s priorities in the upcoming negotiations

When: Thursday, June 16, 2022, 11:30-1pm

Where: Zoom, online (link via red button on your phone or computer, or usE advanced options below)

Please feel free to have lunch during the meeting and bring your questions. If you’ve got a camera, we’d love to see you live. We’ll continue to schedule Information Meetings — in-person and virtual — through the entire negotiation process. If you’d like to set up a meeting at a time and place that works for you and your co-workers, call the SHARE office (508-929-4020, extension 10) and leave a message.

In case you missed it, see also this recent post about Contract Negotiations and Survey Results

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SHARE Digest: Keeping in Touch! Elections, UBTs, and more . . .

In Order to Participate, Keep Your Info Up-to-Date

Please help SHARE stay strong by making sure that we have good contact information for you and your co-workers. Elections will be held electronically this year, and we want to make sure everyone can participate (details coming soon). If you don’t get email from SHARE regularly, please provide us with a cell phone number and/or personal email address (and pass along this notice to any co-workers who might not have seen this. Thanks!) Read the full post . . .

Negotiations Update & Survey Results

SHARE and UMass Memorial continue to prepare for Contract Negotiations. We expect to begin sitting down at the table together on June 23rd. In the meanwhile, SHARE’s negotiating team is having lots of important conversations and studying the SHARE Survey results to hone our priorities. Find more here, including a preliminary list of Information Meeting dates. And, check out this summary of the SHARE Survey Results.

A big shout out to one of our newest Unit Based Teams at Barre Family Health Center! Read more about their strong start

What’s New with Unit Based Teams

SHARE and UMass Memorial are very excited about new developments in partnership. We’re welcoming back former SHARE member Crystal Swenson as a UBT Coach. Plus, SHARE and UMass Memorial recently initiated six new Unit-Based Teams and are readying the launch pad for several more this year. Learn more about what’s new with UBTs. . .

How to Get Covid Test Kits . . . Without Paying for Them

In case you haven’t heard, US households are now eligible to receive an additional eight free Covid test kits from the federal government via USPS. Additionally, many health insurance providers offer a test-kit reimbursement program such as this one from Blue Cross Blue Shield. Local drugstores including CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid offer direction for other insurance providers and in-store pickup. Walgreens also provides Drive-Thru PCR testing. You can also find Covid testing sites near you through the mass.gov website.

UBT Shout-Outs: Barre

A new Unit Based Team kicked off their first meeting in Barre on April 8th. They have begun meeting every other Friday. They spent their first two meetings brainstorming ideas and have decided to work on creating a standard work process for forms. This will include disability, workers comp, FMLA, etc., with the aim to reduce the number of patient inquiries after dropping the forms off as staff can advise them on timelines, in addition to keeping the paperwork better organized. You’re off to a great start, Barre!

SHARE Contract Negotiations & Survey Results Update

SHARE and UMass Memorial are getting set to begin our next contract negotiations. Our first session is currently scheduled for June 23rd, and we expect to meet on a weekly basis. The first pair of sessions will be held with a trainer, Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, who will work with both SHARE and Management about the ideas and skills involved in Interest Based Bargaining. (If you recognize that name, it’s because Joel has participated with us in negotiations before.)

Throughout these negotiations, SHARE will continue to have many one-on-one conversations and hold information meetings (see a preliminary list of sessions below.) We also continue to hone our priorities using the detailed feedback we got from the recent series of SHARE surveys (hit the red button below for a summary). And, of course, we’ll post regular updates to the SHARE website. More to come . . .

SHARE Negotiation Information Meetings

more dates and details to be announced as they become available

including sessions at Hahnemann, Century Drive, etc.

6/16 Virtual Meeting 11:30-1:00 (Zoom link TBA)

6/24 Tri-river Community Room + Webex 11:30-1:00 (link TBA)

6/29 Barre Conference Room + Zoom 11:30-1:00 (link TBA)

7/8 University Information Table 11:30-1:00 (location TBA)

7/15 Memorial Amphitheater 11:30-1:00 (TBA)

Please feel free to bring your lunch and your questions, and to invite your co-workers. At the virtual meetings, if you’ve got a camera, we’d love to see you live. We’ll continue to schedule Information Meetings through the entire negotiation process. If you’d like to set up a meeting at a time and place that works for you and your co-workers, call the SHARE office (508-929-4020, extension 10) and leave a message.

Keep Your Contact Info Updated & Keep Your Union Strong!

Please help SHARE stay strong by making sure that we have good contact information for you and your co-workers. We will soon announce details for the upcoming SHARE elections. Elections will be held electronically this year*, and we want to make sure everyone can participate. If you don’t get email from SHARE regularly, please provide us with a cell phone number and/or personal email address. 

The button below will auto-generate an email that simply asks you to fill in your own information.

You may also have your information updated by talking with a SHARE staff organizer, or by calling the SHARE office at 508-929-4020.

SHARE will not share or sell your contact information. Please also help get word out to your co-workers . . . obviously if we don’t have good contact information for them, this message might not reach them. Thank you!

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* The 2022 Rep and Executive Board election will be held by electronic ballot, hosted professionally by ElectionBuddy.com, an online voting service that meets the standards set by the U.S. Department of Labor and by our parent union, AFSCME. ElectionBuddy will send a link to your cell phone or email account for you to vote securely online.

Reminder & Location Change: University SHARE Contract Drop-In TODAY

Note that today’s event has moved outside due to the current Omicron surge and hospital policies.

(It has nothing to do with the pleasant Spring weather. Nothing at all 😎)

University Info Table

Thursday, MAY 26 11:30am-1Pm

OUTSIDE, near the Prescription Center (old west entrance)

Don’t forget to join SHARE organizers today to talk about the upcoming negotiations with UMass Memorial. Share what matters most to you, learn how you can help advocate for a strong contract, and pick up a pin to show your support.

UMass Memorial works because you do! SHARE has roughly 3000 members working in 170 different job titles. Pick up a pin today and show SHARE pride!

More Free Covid Test Kits Available

Every home in the U.S. is now eligible to order a 3rd round of free at-home tests from the federal government.

US households are now able to order "an additional eight free at-home tests at COVIDTests.gov—bringing the total number of free tests available to each household since the start of the program to 16," the White House said in a fact sheet on Tuesday.

Learn more in this White House Fact Sheet

Reminder: SHARE Virtual Contract Information Meeting TODAY

Zoom Information Meeting

Thursday 5/19

11:30a-1:00p

Join the SHARE Organizing staff and other SHARE Members to talk about the upcoming negotiations with UMass Memorial. Share what matters most to you and learn how you can help advocate for a strong contract.

— or —

Phone: 1 646 558 8656 // Meeting ID: 850 8466 6514 // Passcode: 444 290

If you’ve got a camera, we’d love to see you live at the virtual meeting. Either way, please feel free to bring your lunch and your questions, and invite your co-workers. This will be a rolling, informal meeting where we’ll repeat the high points throughout and gear the talk toward the group on-hand.

We’ll continue to schedule Information Meetings through the entire negotiation process. If you’d like to set up a meeting at a time and place that works for you and your co-workers, call the SHARE office (508-929-4020, extension 10) and leave a message.

UMass Memorial works because SHARE does!

Reminder: Memorial SHARE Contract Drop-In TODAY

note time change

Memorial Info Table

May 18 (Wednesday), noon-1:30 pm

outside the amphitheater

Don’t forget to join SHARE organizers today to talk about the upcoming negotiations with UMass Memorial. Share what matters most to you, learn how you can help advocate for a strong contract, and pick up a pin to show your support.

Stop by and pick up pins for yourself and your co-workers . . . UMass Memorial works because SHARE Members do!