Local 5103 February Union Update

I wanted to take a moment to update all of you on some of the current issues we are seeing and working on as well as to give you a heads-up on upcoming events.

The Local submitted two grievances for Arbitration, which were approved.

Hour Guaranteed Hours Grievance

In 2021’s Local Bargaining session, we won new language that stated that any members that work a 6th and 7th day in a workweek would get time and a half regardless of hours worked, and changed the longstanding guaranteed hours clause from an 8 hour a day guarantee to a 40 hour per week guarantee for full time members. After 2 years without issue, management began violating our contract by changing its interpretation of the language so that when members work a 6th or 7th day, the hours are not counted in addition to the 40 guaranteed hours. While you are receiving time and a half for all hours worked on the 6th and 7th day as per the contract, if you did not actually work 40 hours during their regular schedule, management is only paid hours worked without consideration of the guarantee.

Health Insurance National Grievance

Management is violating our contract by requiring our members to pay health insurance premiums while on Short Term Disability/Workers Comp and forcing members to pay lump sum payments in arrears in violation of Article 19 Section 8. Members have been kicked off their health insurance and missed critical appointments for lack of payment during leaves. During bargaining, Sec A19 S8 was written so that members would not have to pay for health insurance when you have little to no income coming in. The employer is required to pay for health insurance and then collect extra payments in smaller increments as outlined in the contract.

After not getting a resolution to either of these issues through the grievance process, we filed this case to be heard by an arbitrator. We’ll keep you updated as the process moves forward. If you have been impacted by these issues, please reach out to a member of the E-board so that we can add evidence to our file for Arbitration.

2024 Bargaining

As we enter into Bargaining again this year, we will be beginning Bargaining prep shortly. The Coalition put out a survey a few weeks ago that allowed us to pinpoint the most important issues to our members. The Coalition plans on putting out more surveys as we continue to prepare for National Bargaining which begins In April and we will be at the table with our employer every other week. The Local will also be putting out a Bargaining survey so we can begin preparing our proposals as well. I ask that you all begin thinking about how you are willing to help and support the Local during Bargaining. This includes being a part of the Contract Action Team (CAT Team), nominated and serving on the bargaining team as well as participating in button days, etc.

Charge Issues

Our employer continues to schedule Charges at Blood drives whose goals are in excess of what is defined in the Charge Agreement. I ask Charges look at their future drives and reach out to a member of the LEB when there is an issue. The more time we have to deal with it the better. If you are on a blood drive that is over presenting, begin by reaching out to your Supervisor/District Manager to resolve the issue. Especially if you are tracking to process more than 35 procedures. If there is a violation of the Charge Agreement please reach out to your Grievance Chair, Tina Mills.

Incident Reporting Form

Please continue filling out the Incident Reporting Form on the HPAE website when you encounter unsafe working conditions.

Weingarten Rights

Just a gentle reminder, you have a right to Union representation any time you feel a conversation could lead to discipline and during ANY investigation. This includes performance discussions, meetings with QA, disciplines, etc. With that said, the responsibility to obtain Union representation is on each of you. Do not waive this right regardless of how innocuous the conversation appears to be. If at any time during a conversation with you feel the conversation could lead to discipline, exercise your Weingarten rights and inform Management that you would like a Union representative with you for the conversation. Contact information for your E-Board members can be found on the HPAE website.

In Solidarity,

Timothy Posser
Co-President HPAE Local 5103
Tjposser@gmail.com
7323004800