Your union contract negotiating teams are currently at the table with the hospital negotiating all three contracts. The first date for Tech II was this Wednesday where initial proposals were made by both sides. The Tech II bargaining will be taking place every other Wednesday moving forward in addition to the RN and Service and Support bargaining units as we continue to work towards building the contracts you have earned and deserve. 

Also this week, member leaders from all bargaining units met with the Mercy Hospital / Trinity Health work-from-home corporate team to negotiate the implementation of the vaccine mandate. After weeks of delaying bargaining by corporate Trinity your co-workers met for three negotiation sessions this week. 

The SEIU team put forth a proposal to ensure workers would be given necessary paid time off from their job (if needed), a financial incentive for all bargaining units including retro pay for those already vaccinated (like countless other businesses), and a fair and transparent process for all medical and religious exemptions that are submitted by workers. The hospital team quickly rejected this worker centric proposal and countered with a similar position they already held. 

After further discussion a second proposal was made to the hospital which was again rejected. When discussing providing financial incentives the hospital team stated that ‘colleagues already received a $500 payment’ and they were not interested in providing any others. Additionally, when asked to simply put the hospital policy into a letter of understanding to ensure workers maintain both short and long term job protections beyond some arbitrary date they choose, the Trinity Health work-from-home corporate team again restated their position in direct opposition to the voices of their own frontline healthcare workers but want to meet again to continue discussions. 

Now is the time to email Gary Allore and Robin Belcourt to DEMAND they let your union representation onto the hospital campus and IMMEDIATELY begin bargaining in good faith! 

Join us each Friday in wearing the color PURPLE on the job!

RN Negotiating Team 

Wendy Trach, PAT Frank Durante, Vascular Access Team 

Tom Kelsch, ER Laura Krzykwwa, Outpatient Surgery 

DorReatha Lassow, OB Karin Barnhard, ICU

Service & Support Negotiating Team 

Lonnie Keech – PCA ICU Tinitco Moore – HUC Nursing Float

Anthony Simmons – Food and Nutrition Services Darla Gallegos – Laboratory

Jessica Corona – Nursing Floats & Relief Mark Keiser – Plant Ops

FOR MORE INFO:

Chris Connolly, chris.connolly@seiuhealthcaremi.org or 517-214-1743