HPAE Local 5094 UH Important Update, February 18, 2022
HPAE met with the Hospital on February 17th and reached several tentative agreements. First, performance evaluations will have a reduced penalty should a member receive a poor rating for their annual evaluation. Next, management has agreed to meet with HPAE at least 4 times per year to address workload and retention issues. Furthermore, there were a few agreements that were for housekeeping and other miscellaneous issues.
In addition, there were numerous discussions about mandatory overtime with management. We expressed our concern that mandatory overtime is being used as a staffing tool for units that are chronically understaffed at the expense of our members. In spite of everything, we remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached that will limit the use of mandatory overtime. We also proposed language to streamline the process for members seeking either a job reclassification, in-grade salary adjustment or a salary review.
Most importantly, HPAE presented our economic package to the Hospital which asked for a 4-year contract with 5% across the board increase each year and a step move for our members every other year of the agreement. The Hospital countered with an initial offer of 1.5% across the board increase in a 3-year contract with no step moves. HPAE reminded the Hospital that it was our members’ dedication that ensured the community received safe patient care and they should be compensated as such. We also reminded management of the high turnover rate which has only been exacerbated by the national staffing crisis which many hospitals are facing across the nation.
HPAE is scheduled to return to negotiations on Friday, February 25th and will continue to work with management to reach an agreement. If you have any questions related to negotiations or are interested in becoming more involved with your local union, please feel free to contact your local union rep using the contact information found at http://5094uhhpae.org or email dbaker@hpae.org.
In addition, we are asking our members to make every effort to attend the upcoming membership meetings which are scheduled as follows:
Tuesday February 22nd at 7pm
Wednesday February 23rd at 1pm
In solidarity,
HPAE 5094 UH Negotiations Committee
Ryan Novosielski, Jacob Luftman, Carmen Vincenty, Roshni Danak, Esther Barney, Olivia Valentino-Davis