Our first day of bargaining yesterday went fairly smoothly. During introductions, we expressed our desire to reestablish a more collaborative relationship going forward. We then proposed a set of basic ground rules for bargaining which we hope will not be controversial. To get things moving, we also proposed retaining current contract language for about half of the contract .
We followed this by sharing proposals on the following Articles of the contract: Seniority, Non-discrimination, Posting and Filling Positions, Transfers/Promotions and Multiple Sites, Union Representation, Corrective Action Procedure, Professional Practice Committees, Grievance and Arbitration Procedures, Safety, and Duration of Agreement.
Most of these proposals were to incorporate language we have agreed to in Southern California or other minor changes. The most significant proposal was on Posting and Filling Positions, where we are proposing that seniority be the determinative factor in awarding positions, like in SoCal.We also made a proposal related to New Technology, including AI, that recognizes the potential value of AI but states that the use of any “new technology is not to replace, but to assist bargaining unit employees in providing safe, therapeutic, and effective patient care and support.”
Management was engaged throughout, asked thoughtful questions about our proposals and stated repeatedly that their desire was to complete bargaining before the contract expires on September 30. However, they were not quite ready to confirm additional dates to meet beyond this month. They also had no immediate responses to our proposals and only made two minor proposals of their own.
At our next bargaining session on Friday, we expect management to respond to most, if not all of our proposals, and perhaps have more substantial proposals of their own. We plan to make additional proposals as well.
