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Eliot settlement 2008

Union Contract Settlement Reached with Eliot!

After 12 bargaining sessions and 2 strike threats your union representatives reached a settlement on a new contract with Eliot management.  Now you will have the opportunity to vote YES or NO on the settlement.  See the Ratification Notice for voting information.

What follows are highlights of the settlement.  Not everything in the new contract is listed here.  Some language details are still being worked out.  See the actual language for specifics, details and all the articles. For more information and to see the actual language, contact a member of the negotiating committee, or union staff Jon Grossman (617) 924-8509 x536.

A Message from your Union Negotiating Committee
    We recommend that you vote YES on this settlement.  We worked hard to try to address many different problems during a difficult financial time for the agency. We didn’t get everything we wanted, but we made progress and we believe this is the best deal we can get without going on strike.  
Union Negotiating Committee: Don Andrade,  Arlisa Bennett, Greg Brown, Norah Connolly, David DelRossi, Stephen Fadiya, Mark Gallagher, Jillian Gauvin, Damon Harrison, Jaynelle Landy, Howard Lipkin, Dennis MacDonald, John Mbira, Susan Muchiri, John Nugent, Israel Pierre, Ana Pereira, Deborah Robbins, Arthur Shurcliff, Earline Thomas, Kathy Whitman

3 Year Contract with Reopeners
•    The contract will expire on 4/30/11 which enables us to engage in coordinated bargaining again in 3 years.
•    Wage and Health Insurance Reopeners each year.  This means we will be negotiating again for raises next year and the year after.
•    Reopener on Short Term Disability Insurance next year

Wages  
Because of your lobbying, organizing, and May 1 strike threat we will be receiving more state money this year.  There will be both “a salary reserve” raise (about 2%) and also a significant “quality care fund” raise (for more on this, see your steward).  All of this money will probably come late in 2008 but be retroactive to 7/1/08.  In addition to that Eliot has agreed to:
•    Continue the 3% annual step raises.  Eliot backed off their proposal to stop the step increases.
•    Match salary reserve for all staff (except fee-for-service and flat rate) who make under $40K
•    Give a 10 cents/hr raise across the board (except fee-for-service, flat rate and relief)
•    Pay a one time bonus to all non-relief staff who have been employed at least six months (started prior to 1/1/08).  It is pro-rated based on full-time equivalency (hours per week).  The total amount split up among the group is $140,000 which comes to approximately $280 (gross) per full time staff person.
•    Add a new step in the first year of the agreement (so people at the top step can get a step raise).  There will be a 3% bonus in years 2 and 3 for people at the top step.
•    Give an additional raise for relief  and emergency services (see below)
•    Wage reopeners (a chance to negotiate more raises) each year of contract


Health Insurance
•    In return for our agreeing not to strike Eliot backed off their proposals to increase the share we pay of our health and dental insurance, and to increase the number of hours needed for eligibility.  These won’t change.  
•    We negotiated to reduce the premium increase (from 10% to 6%) by agreeing on a system where non-generic drug copays increase but Eliot will reimburse us for the increase.  Confidentiality is protected.
•    Eliot is switching to Blue Cross Dental.  This plan appears to have similar benefits and more dentists.  The premiums are significantly lower than what Guardian’s premiums for next year would have been.
•    There will be reopeners on health insurance in each year of the contract.
•    Negotiations will continue to set up pre-tax medical/dental reimbursement accounts

401(k)
•    Employer contributions to 401(k) will restart and are guaranteed for the life of the contract

Seniority Bonus
•    Amounts of 10,15, 20, 25 and 30 year bonuses increase by $200
•    New 5 year bonus of $100.  This will be given this year to all 5-10 year employees.  The 5 year bonus goes up to $200 on 7/1/09

Bilingual Pay – new benefit
•    6% increase if speaking another language is an essential requirement for your job (former Tri-City employees’ bilingual pay is grandfathered in)

Fee-For-Service/Productivity
•    new option to get 50% employer contribution to health insurance if bill 20 hrs/week
•    those FFS employees who currently have employer contribution to health insurance will maintain it
•    New LMFT rate: $31.71
•    Productivity levels maintained as is
•    For outpatient/CRS:
  • Staff meetings and quality assurance meetings are paid time/productive time
  • Clean Claim payment system won’t be instituted in Lynn or Everett until bargaining over it is completed
  • FFS Rates increase by 3% after 10 years and after 15 years
  • Starting FFS rate for LICSWs and LMHCs: $31.71
  • Eliot backed off their proposal to reduce the extra hours paid for employees who bill 15 or more hours/week
  • For productivity credit paperwork must be in by end of Friday of the week in which the client was seen

Comp Time for Exempt Staff
•    There will be clear access to comp time for exempt staff (staff not eligible for overtime).  Exempt staff who work more than 2 extra hours per week (including more than a half-hour extra on a given day) can get that time later as comp time.  

Vacation
New vacation rules to make it easier to take vacations:
•    If you put in a request for 1 week or more at least 120 days in advance it will be posted and if no staff with more seniority wants the time, it can be approved.  Otherwise the 30 day seniority rule still applies.
•    Alternative vacation scheduling procedures may be developed at any program but must be approved by management and by the union.
•    Vacation time shall not be unreasonably denied.  If it is denied, reasons must be given in writing.
•    The requirement for a response to a vacation request within 2 weeks remains.

Voluntary Overtime
•    Eliot tried very hard to change the contract so that extra shifts would go to relief first before regular staff could get overtime.   After we threatened to strike, they backed down and agreed to the current language (which we jointly clarified) that calls for extra shifts to go to part-timers first and then a single pool of relief and full-time staff by seniority on a rotating basis.

Forced Overtime
•    Reasonable efforts must be made to avoid forced overtime; there is no longer a limit on the amount of phone calls that must be made before forcing someone to stay.
•    People voluntarily working extra shifts are last on the regular staff list to be forced
•    The Union and Eliot management will monitor forced overtime quarterly
•    If there is a significant amount of forced overtime in any program, steps must be taken to address it (the contract lists some possible steps)

Meal Periods
•    We settled our meal periods grievance. Eliot must make reasonable efforts to give everyone working 6 or more hours a half-hour meal period “with as much freedom from work duties during the meal period as possible”.  

Tuition Reimbursement
•    Increase in the individual benefit (from $900 - $1000/yr) and in the total amount available across the agency

Relief Staff
Relief staff are now part of the union. The agreement calls for relief to become part of the same bargaining unit as regular staff.  Relief staff will be covered by most of the contract and therefore will have (like regular staff):
  • The right not to be disciplined or terminated without just cause (after completing probation)
  • A grievance procedure with binding arbitration
  • Rights to apply for positions
  • Health and safety rights, etc.
New clauses covering relief include:
•    A Raise: Relief will be raised to $11.50/hour.  (Safehaven Relief get a higher rate of $12.20 due to the City of Boston’s Living Wage Ordinance.  Former Tri-City relief who were always in the Union will continue to keep their current rate, if higher)
•    Salary Reserve and Quality Care Fund: The state money we fought for (see above) will apply to relief staff on top of the $11.50 (or current rate if higher)
•    Probation: New Relief will have a probationary period of 6 months or 520 hours whichever comes first.  Current Relief hired after 1/1/08 will serve a shortened probationary period starting 7/1/08 of 90 days.  Current relief hired before 1/1/08  will not have to serve a probationary period.  
•    Relief staff who become regular staff: If a relief staff becomes a regular staff they will be placed at the first step in the pay scale that is at least equal to their current relief pay rate.  There will be a new 90 day special probationary period during which management will have the right to return the employee to relief status without a grievance.  As of now Relief seniority will not count towards benefit accruals as regular staff but we will be addressing this issue next year in a reopener.  Relief seniority will not count towards waiting periods for benefits.  
•    Forced Overtime: Relief can only be forced to stay an extra shift if there are no regular staff on duty to stay.  If a relief staff is forced to stay they will receive the same premium pay regular staff get (time-and-a-half if under 40 hours that week and double time if over 40 hours )

Emergency Services
•    Management originally wanted to increase the overnight staff pay rates because they were having trouble getting overnight staff.  Now there will be increases for the other shifts as well ranging from 11-23%.

Snow Days
•    Some staff will have the option of using vacation days under certain circumstances if they can’t get to work due to weather conditions

Bumping
•    Bumping now is clearly allowed across programs within the employee’s division in the event of layoffs.  No more than 25% of the staff of any one program can be bumped at any one time.  Staff with training, qualifications and Eliot experience in other divisions can bump across divisions.  This settles our previously filed bumping grievance.  Also bumping decision time goes from 10 work days to 10 calendar days.

Sick Time for Family Illness
•    New language states that use of sick time for family illness above the currently allowed 5 days shall not be unreasonably denied

Other Issues
•    Seniority necessary to use sick time when suspended pending an investigation is reduced from 8 to 5 years.
•    Notice to Union and employees when recruitment rate used; impact bargaining guaranteed
•    Transfer rights by seniority spelled out
•    Increase in number of staff able to attend Lobby Days on paid time
•    Employee can take election day off with approval of manager (using own time)
•    The union will be notified of any new employees who do not attend orientation
•    Employees driving Eliot vans are responsible for payment of any toll violations
•    Director of Food Services at Chrysalis and Coordinators at Teamworks excluded from the bargaining unit  
•    Article 18 section 6 language regarding med distribution when programs are closed is deleted (this language was outdated)
•    Leaves of Absence language rewritten to be clearer