MHCD Union Strong Victory! Ratification Vote Info

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*Due to the high likelihood of snow this weekend, we have changed the in-person voting to Thursday instead of Saturday, so please see the schedule below.*

REMINDER: Tomorrow we begin voting to ratify our strong agreement! See below for a summary of the wages and information on voting opportunities.

It’s important that you make your voice heard and vote in the ratification meetings. Some of those who are voting may disagree with you. If this agreement is not passed you will not receive the bonus or the raises in March.

UPDATE ON BONUS: To confirm, these are the bonus categories when we vote YES to ratify the agreement:

• Case Managers I & II (except those at Residential) will receive a $250 bonus.
• Those in the following categories will receive a $500 bonus: All Residential Staff (All Residential Counselors and Apartment Managers; and all Case Managers I/II, LPCs, Mental Health Therapists I/II assigned to a residential team), Peer Specialists, Co-Responders, Nurses, and Medical Assistants. We believe many more deserve this bonus, but management rejected our proposals to expand it to other job classes.

The bonuses are both prorated, so those who were hired after March of last year or those who work a part-time schedule will receive a portion of their bonuses. If you have any questions, please contact a bargaining team member, an organizer, or respond directly to this email.

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The MHCD bargaining team has achieved a “Tentative Agreement” or TA with management and is now ready to present it to all union members for a ratification vote!

We stood strong during one of the most difficult times in our lives and demanded to be heard! Many of you joined in the info picket, emailed and called management, and showed your union pride with purple signatures and backgrounds. This is why we were able to achieve an agreement many thought was impossible.  

This ratification vote is your opportunity to decide democratically if we adopt the agreement or not. If you do not vote, others may make the decision for you, so please join one of the meetings and vote. In the meetings we will explain the agreement to you, confirm your Union membership and share the personalized link for voting. Only Union Members can vote, so if your colleagues would like to vote but are not members, there is still a chance to sign up as a Union Member. 

Please see a summary of the bargained issues that impact your income here. There are other issues that were negotiated, such as benefits and workers’ rights, and we will present the full agreement before you vote. 

We all know that wages are one of the most important parts:

The bargaining team pushed for a wage scale with fair, predictable raises for all employees, but management rejected that. We felt management’s counter-offer accomplishes many of our priorities. If this agreement is ratified, all current employees will receive a raise effective March 8th and get a $300 bonus to appear in the March 26 paycheck. The raises are as follows:

In years 2 and 3, we will reopen negotiations on wages and guarantee at least a 3% increase for employees in the 4.5% and 5.5% categories above and at least 2% for all other positions, but we will be able to bargain and push for higher raises.

We fought a long time for Hazard Pay for all those facing the pandemic, but management refused to agree to this. After many months of our insistence they proposed that a “COVID Compliance bonus” be paid out only to Residential Counselors. The bargaining committee accepted the structure of the bonus, but pushed for it to apply to more job types.

If the agreement is accepted by members, Case Managers I & II (except those at Residential) will receive a $250 bonus and those in the following categories will receive a $500 bonus: All Residential Staff (All Residential Counselors and Apartment Managers; and all Case Managers I/II, LPCs, Mental Health Therapists I/II assigned to a residential team), Peer Specialists, Co-Responders, Nurses, and Medical Assistants. We believe many more deserve this bonus, but management rejected our proposals to expand it to other job classes.

We call this agreement the “Tentative Agreement” because it will only become the actual contract if the union members vote to ratify it. We will conclude the vote by Saturday 13 so that, if ratified, the increases can appear in your March 26th paycheck.

Please come to one of the ratification meetings for more details, to ask questions, to vote on how we can continue to build our strength to accomplish even more in the future. If you are unable to attend in person or remotely, please let your Union Organizers know ASAP so they can see if other arrangements can be made for you to vote.

RATIFICATION VOTE MEETINGS

Thursday, March 11th from 4PM – 8:30PM

In person at the SEIU Local 105 Union Hall at 2525 W. Alameda Ave

or by joining the Zoom link below.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THURSDAY ZOOM

Friday, March 12th from  4PM – 7PM

by joining the Zoom link below.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN FRIDAY ZOOM

Saturday, March 13th from 9AM – 12PM

by joining the Zoom link below.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN SATURDAY ZOOM