Bayonne Medical Center Local 5185 Bargaining Update June 23, 2018
Changing our course of action
We will not be holding our picket originally planned for June 27th
In response to management’s commitment to resolve several key issues, we are cancelling our informational picket originally scheduled for June 27th. As a show of good faith, we are withdrawing our legal notice to picket on that date. We expect good faith in return and have informed management that we may deliver a ten-day notice for a strike or informational picketing if a fair agreement cannot be reached by the 30th.
In the last week, management has agreed to the following improvements in our contract:
- Certification pay in the lab for Medical Technologists ($1/hr)
- Voluntary on-call pay for downstaffed employees
- Bonus Shifts at $10 per hour for non-nursing employees
- No employee can be downstaffed after 50% of their shift
Management has also agreed to remove proposals that would have done the following:
- Taken away floating and weekend protections for employees with 25+ years of service
- On-call for patient needs, not emergencies
Management gave our union an initial economic proposal. It does not meet our needs, but both parties agreed to bring in a federal mediator to help us reach an agreement by June 30th.
What we’re fighting for:
We know a final agreement must meet our needs on these key subjects:
- Safe staffing for our patients
- Quality, affordable health insurance
- An end to the seven-year freeze of experience wage increases (step movement)
- Weekend and critical care pay differentials
- Protection against outsourcing of union work and quality jobs
