Non-monetary negotiations conclude and monetary negotiations begin
Bargaining with the employer at the Chinatown Multilevel Care Foundation proceeded this month and progress has been made. Though there are a few outstanding items, the non-monetary negotiations wrapped on March 11 and monetary negotiations began on March 21.
Our employer has a proposed 15-minute decrease in shift length for HCAs that would result in an approximately 3.25% cut in compensation for a majority of members. However, they have so far only offered a one-time lump sum payment for members affected by the shorter shifts. We advised that we could not agree to this change without seeing ongoing improvements in the collective agreement that would make up for this cut.
Your negotiating team is actively seeking avenues to balance these cuts and maintain our compensation levels, including retroactive wage increases, a lump sum payment for 2021, and improvements to benefits. We continue to advocate for a flexible health spending account, improved night shift differential, overtime provisions, LPN registration/professional days, personal days, and bereavement improvements. We have been clear that improvements to these benefits are a priority for members.
In terms of the wages that our employer is proposing, we are also concerned that there would be no retroactive increases for the very difficult pandemic period. Instead, they are proposing lump sum payments upon ratification with one per cent increases later this year and next year.
We cannot afford to accept a proposal that sets members back and does not provide compensation in recognition of our service during the pandemic. We must continue to work together to send a message to the employer – our dedication to residents and unwavering efforts in the midst of a pandemic deserve to be valued and fairly compensated.
Finally, vacation scheduling has been an ongoing issue throughout bargaining. Our employer wants to have the right to schedule vacation for us if we haven’t booked it ourselves. However, this doesn’t fit with concerns from members that our vacation requests are being denied.
The negotiating team will meet in May to prepare for the next round of negotiations in June and, with your involvement and your support, we are confident we can reach a resolution that better meets our needs.
AUPE NEGOTIATING TEAM – CHINATOWN MULTILEVEL CARE FOUNDATION
Barni Mahmoud
gobeye@yahoo.com or 780-885-4866 (cell)
Yanan (Anna) Zheng
yananzheng512@gmail.com or 780-901-2712 (cell)
Yinghua Li
yinghuali61@hotmail.com or 780-709-5610 (cell)
AUPE RESOURCE STAFF
Merryn Edwards Negotiations
m.edwards@aupe.org or 780-952-5287 (cell)
Michelle Szalynski Organizing
m.szalynski@aupe.org or 403-634-8262 (cell)
Jon Milton Communications
j.milton@aupe.org