The SHARE Contract Negotiating Team is very pleased to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement! The contract goes into effect if SHARE members vote to approve it on September 24th-25th.
All SHARE members will be mailed to their home address a Summary of the tentative agreement, a list of Voting times and locations, a list of Information Meeting times and locations, and a Raise Calculator.
Also you can find, through this highlighted link, Full details of the Agreement.
Our goal in these negotiations has been to preserve benefits, get a decent raise, and create as much stability for SHARE members as possible. If ratified, our new contract:
• Runs for four years, from October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2016
• Preserves the 85%-15% split on Health Insurance premiums & keeps co-pays the same
• Provides Raises that average 3% for SHARE members each year (see Raise Calculator)
• Reduces the Pension benefit (No pension earnings will be lost; however, starting in 2017, the calculation will be modified so that it continues to increase, but not as fast)
• Doubles UMass Memorial’s match for member contributions to the 401(k) starting in 2017
• Raises the Charge Pay differential from $0.60/hr to $2.50/hr
• Preserves the Earned Time accrual rate for current SHARE members, but reduces the rate for future members by 3 days/year
• Strengthens our Work Security language with stipulations about any potential outsourcing and department closures or sales in the future
The contract proposal also provides a timeline and guidelines for a joint Labor-Management Committee. During negotiations, SHARE and UMass Memorial identified a list of unresolved issues we have agreed to continue to discuss and try to reach agreement about. For example, UMass Memorial has stated its interest in raising parking rates gradually until SHARE member rates meet the newly-proposed higher rates. Enclosed you can find more details about the parking proposal, and a full list of the issues proposed by UMass Memorial and SHARE.
The negotiating team believes that with this agreement, we participate responsibly toward the success of our hospital, and, at the same time, provide what we and our families need, in order to deal with what seem to be ever-increasing economic pressures. We ask you to vote in favor of this agreement on September 24th-25th.
