Documenting Department Policies -- Getting Rid of the Gray

SHARE members sometimes become frustrated by what they see as "gray areas" in the contract. In an attempt to fix some of these issues, SHARE has made a proposal in contract negotiations to systematize several department-level decisions in black-and-white.

Why the Gray?

SHARE represents almost two hundred job titles, in departments ranging from the tiny variety with two secretaries who work day shift, to enormous departments such as the Emergency Room, which has seventy-four SHARE members, in a variety of jobs, working shifts 24/7. That range leads to some complex challenges. For example, how do you write a vacation policy that would serve all those departments well, especially since they all start off with different ways of handling vacations?

SHARE's answer to that question is to emphasize the input of SHARE members in the department. The SHARE contract has always said that the way vacations are scheduled should be decided in the department, in discussions between the local SHARE members and the local managers. Our position has been that department policies will be different, and differences between departments are ok, as long as the SHARE members in each department have a say.

Most often, where SHARE encounters problems, it's not because of differences between departments, it's because of confusion. In some departments, the vacation policy is very clear because it's written down clearly. If a new manager or a group of SHARE members wants to change the policy because things have changed, they can involve everyone in that discussion. All good.

In other departments, however, the vacation policy isn't written down, and SHARE members get surprised by how it happens each year, or because changes get made without involving staff.

Developing a System for Clarifying and Including SHARE Member Input

SHARE is proposing that every department make sure they have a written policy for the parts of the contract that are left up to SHARE members and their managers to work out in the department. We'd avoid a lot of confusion and problems. SHARE and HR would provide help for any department having a tough time reaching a consensus agreement. We are working toward an agreement that would create deadlines and accountability in order to make sure these policies get documented.

(We also discussed absenteeism and the Massachusetts Earned Sick law at negotiations this week.)

Partnership Day at FMCS Chicago



While some SHARE staff organizers were in for the long-haul at the FMCS Conference this week, other SHARE leaders made a quick hop out to Chicago and back for the kickoff event: Partnership Day. (It made for a long day . . . but some SHARE folks had to be back for contract negotiations early the next morning.)
CqArWSrXgAAHc8D.jpg:large.jpg
A strong union is necessary for
a strong partnership, says
Tom Kochan of MIT



Partnership Day showcased six union-management partnerships that have survived and even thrived for more than a decade. Two groups talked about partnerships in healthcare: Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of KP Unions, and LA County Health Agency and the Service Employees International Union. (Click here for the full list and agenda.)  

 The keynote speaker for the event was former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich.


"Over and over, each group talked about how hard it is work in partnership. It's easier to go the traditional way, and be adversarial. But they also said the results are better in partnership: better for the employees, the patients, and for management," said SHARE Organizer, Janet Wilder.

SHARE Organizer Will Erickson's take-away idea was that any Labor-Management partnership--however well-developed, strategically planned, and strong it may seem--is always fragile.


IMG_2978.JPG
Both SHARE and UMass Memorial management learned
about union-management partnerships in Chicago:
Kati Korenda, Senior Director,
Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence,
and Bobbi-Jo Lewis, SHARE Co-President
Kati Korenda of the Heart and Vascular Center told us that she was struck by the story of International Paper, which, in its long history, had its share of labor-management strife, including strikes and lockouts; at a critical moment, however, they turned around the direction of their relationship, and their partnership has led the company to new vibrancy and success.


Each time SHARE talks with union folks from Kaiser Permanente, we learn more about how we might work in partnership at UMass Memorial, and what we might get out of it. Denise Duncan, President of UNAC/AFSCME, which represents RNs in Southern California told us over dinner, 
"I was against this at first. But now I'm convinced that partnership is the way to go. We have UNAC members who work at Kaiser Permanente and at other more traditional employers, so I see the difference every day. Our members at Kaiser have better contracts, and a better experience day-to-day at work."

Partnership Day panel, with the Kaiser group on the left,
Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld,
and the LA County group on the far right.






Future @ Work: SHARE at the FMCS Conference 2016



SHARE leaders have travelled to Chicago this week to attend the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services Conference. The event brings together an all-star cast of labor and industry leaders, as well as academics and facilitators.

SHARE/UMass Memorial
Interest-Based Bargaining Facilitator, 
Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld,
moderating the Partnership Day discussion
In past years, SHARE has presented at the conference, describing our unique kind of union, as well as our successes with UMass Memorial to engage our members in improving patient experiences.


This year, the theme is “Future @ Work.” SHARE has focused its attention on the various models of union-management partnership to better understand how we can better cultivate our own union for the future. Participants at this year’s conference have been invited to:
  • Learn from distinguished labor, management, and new economy thought leaders
  • Problem Solve at workshops focused on actual situations and practical solutions
  • Network with labor relations and workplace professionals from around the country and the world
  • Prepare your organization for the future with advice from experts who are forging paths to partnership and organizational success
Former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich,
delivering the keynote address
at FMCS 2016 Partnership Day
The FMCS is an independent agency within the Federal Government whose mission is “to preserve and promote labor-management peace and cooperation.” Their staff provides mediation and conflict and resolution services to business, government, and community groups around the country. Speakers at this year’s conference  include national labor-management and economy leaders, such as Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO; Bill Ford, Jr., Executive Chairman of the Ford Motor Company; and Thomas Perez, U.S. Secretary of Labor.

We’re looking forward to hearing reports from the various panels, presentations, and workshops that our friends are attending. More to come . . .




Contract Negotiations 2016: Session #2

THIS WEEK, in a NUTSHELL



SHARE and UMass Memorial had our second contract negotiations session on Wednesday, August 10. As we reported last week, these negotiations continue to feel different from past negotiations. One key difference is the use of “co-facilitation,” a new process involving one union and one management leader to steer each discussion. This week we continued our focus on issues from the previous session:

  • Interactions between SHARE members and supervisors and managers, which SHARE brought to the table. This week, Tod Wiesman (AVP, Performance, Learning, and Education) addressed the negotiators; he described the ideas that the hospital’s executive leadership is developing to train and cultivate hospital leaders.


  • Increasing flexibility for cross-campus floating, which management brought to the table. This week, five front-line managers were brought in to describe their interests in floating SHARE employees. We also established an additional side table to drill down further on the issue of floating.



We started with 2 difficult issues, where managers and union leaders start from very different places. We are working to understand each other, and to try to find common ground.

For more info, read on...


WHY ARE THESE NEGOTIATIONS DIFFERENT?

Of course, every round of negotiations will feel different. In the three or so years between contracts, things change. Each negotiations, SHARE welcomes a few new members to its team, and misses a few from before. That said, our team remains relatively constant: a majority of our team members have negotiated before. On the flip side, UMass Memorial has an entirely new Executive Leadership team since our previous negotiations, and the leadership of the hospital’s Labor Relations department has completely turned over since our last negotiations. This results in a new management negotiating team. While many of the members of their team bring significant experience to the table, the leaders of their team are experiencing Interest Based Bargaining for the first time.

The teams at the main table are also bigger than we’ve had in the past. This has the advantage of people bringing experiences from a wide range of departments to the discussion. Management's team is a combination of Human Resources people, and front-line and middle managers.

Though we are trying to use Interest Based Bargaining, we can't leave history behind entirely, and it’s easy to fall into old habits of traditional bargaining. We’re all working to establish good foundations for ongoing relationships, as we tackle some of the most ambitious subjects SHARE has addressed in negotiations.

A New Experiment: Co-Facilitation

One part of these negotiations that is new to everyone involved is “co-facilitation.” Our early training sessions and initial bargaining session were led by a facilitator, Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld. He trained two individuals from each side to act as neutrals, guiding the discussions about particular topics. The facilitators are:

  • Myra Shah, UMMMC Human Resources

  • Jeff Mogan, UMMMC Labor Relations

  • Will Erickson, SHARE

  • Elisabeth Szanto, SHARE



Although the facilitators each come from within the teams of negotiators, when they’re in the role of co-facilitator, they put on a different hat. Their job is to make sure that the conversation is flowing, and that we’re driving toward conclusions efficiently. They also help to make sure that notes are being captured accurately. (One other unique aspect of this negotiations is that notes are being taken and displayed, in real time, on an overhead projector.)

KEEP INVOLVED

We’ll keep the updates coming on the blog. To learn more, and weigh in about either of the topics we’ve discussed, and about what topics are coming up, please join us at an upcoming SHARE Information Meeting about Contract Negotiations.

SHARE Information meetings about Contract Negotiations

Contract negotiations have started. We are trying to finish by October 1st. Join us to discuss what's happening in negotiations!

SHARE’s priorities come from the SHARE members who filled out the SHARE survey last fall, and from SHARE info meetings and conversations since then. The survey results are summarized here.  The SHARE priorities are here as well as on the statement that many SHARE members signed onto in the last couple of months.

Info Meetings for SHARE Members’ Input about Proposals

The specific proposals of how to make progress on those priorities are being discussed at negotiations during August and September. SHARE Info Meetings are a chance for you to hear what we are talking about and give your opinions. Please join us at a meeting near you.

University: Thurs, August 11      11:30-1:30     Room S2-309B (2nd floor of the Medical School)

Memorial: Fri, August 12            11:30-1:30     Nursing conference room (toward the ED from the cafeteria)

Hahnemann: Mon, August 22    11:30-1:30     2nd floor conference room

67 Millbrook: Thurs, August 25  11:30-1:30     Thom McAn conference room

306 Belmont: Fri, September 9    11:30-1:30     Conference room D

Tri-River: Fri, September 23       11:30-1:30      Community Room

These meetings are “rolling” meetings – come for whatever part of the meeting is your lunch break. Feel free to bring your lunch, your thoughts and questions, and a friend!

If you’d like to set up a meeting at a time and place that works for you and your co-workers, call the SHARE office (508-929-4020, extension 10) and leave a message.

Contract Negotiations 2016: Our First Session


SHARE and UMass Memorial had their first contract negotiations session last Wednesday. For those of us on the SHARE Negotiating Team who have negotiated several contracts before this, this session seemed really different. Our training on Interest Based Bargaining, and our choice to have a facilitator to run negotiations, are positive changes.


Here’s what we accomplished at our first session:

  • Set up side tables to negotiations to work on specific issues.

  • Mapped out a schedule of when each issue will be discussed. We’ve never done this before, and we think it will help make sure we are moving forward quickly.

  • Began discussions about 2 issues:

    • Interactions between SHARE members and supervisors and managers, which SHARE brought to the table.

    • Increasing flexibility for cross-campus floating, which management brought to the table.

  • We worked hard to understand each other’s interests in bringing this issue forward, and to begin brainstorm solutions that everyone might be able to agree to. No agreements were made on either issue yet.



For more info about either of these 2 topics and about what topics are being discussed at negotiations, or to put in your opinion, please join us at SHARE Information Meetings about Contract Negotiations.

Contract Negotiations Side Tables


 SHARE and UMass Memorial are trying something new in our negotiations this time. As you may remember from our last round of negotiations, SHARE and UMass Memorial management had a side table to discuss changes to the pension, before we started negotiations about the rest of the issues. The Pension Table brought together people from both union and management to focus in-depth on the pension, which worked quite well.

This time, we are building on that success. Multiple side tables will meet in the afternoons after the Main Table meets. These smaller groups can focus on their issue and bring recommendations to the Main Table.
  •  Teams & Culture Side Table– This side table (who might change their name once they get started) is looking at examples of team-based work systems in other places to see what we want to try here at UMass Memorial. At Kaiser Permanente, unit based teams help groups do process improvement to make the work easier, and train everyone on how to work together as a team.  SHARE believes a team structure also could improve how SHARE members and supervisors and managers work together, which was a big priority coming out of the SHARE member survey last fall (link to SHARE letter and survey results). 
  • Career Development Side Table – SHARE wants to increase ways for SHARE members to learn and grow in their jobs and to build careers at UMass Memorial. A group will also discuss how internal applications and transfers are working.
  • In-patient PCA Staffing Side Table – This side table will look at how the patient care model is working on the inpatient floors. SHARE hopes to address PCAs’ concerns about how many patients they have to provide care for. (Staffing is a big concern for many SHARE members – we will be discussing staffing for other areas at the Main Table.)
  • Call-Back and Sleep Time Side Table – This side table is tackling issues for SHARE members who take call.
  • In addition, mini side table groups will discuss salary scales for peer-slotted titles in SHARE, the pension floor to protect lower paid SHARE members, and 401K auto-enrollment for new employees.

 Our hope is that side tables will help us get more done quickly in negotiations, and bring more new ideas into the negotiations. We’ll keep you posted.

Contract Negotiations: Negotiating about How to Negotiate


 Joel told the packed classroom, “There are three keys to a successful negotiation: preparing, preparing, preparing.” We were there--almost forty of us, both members of the SHARE and UMass Memorial management Negotatiating Teams and leaders, in a series of three half-day training sessions--to learn about different ways of negotiating.

In past Contract Negotiations, SHARE has used a model of bargaining that begins with open conversation about interests – what each side cared about. We’ve worked toward “expanding the pie”, rather than fighting over who’s getting the bigger piece of pie. When we try to focus on our common ground, we are more likely to find “win-win” solutions.

In these negotiations, SHARE is focusing on the day-to-day experience of coming to work for SHARE members. Taking on this huge issue makes it even more important that SHARE and management be able to negotiate productively. SHARE and UMass Memorial management have agreed to use Interest Based Bargaining to try to craft solutions for a better way of working at UMass Memorial.


Our teacher and facilitator for these trainings was Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld. He’s a professor at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. He has studied labor-management partnership in the Kaiser Permanente hospital network. He also helped Ford and the United Auto Workers Union to form a Labor Management Partnership. That partnership helped Ford so much they were the only major US automaker that didn’t require federal funding during the recent industry bailout. More important to us than all his academic accomplishments: Joel’s been a huge to both union and management in guiding us forward.

Respect and What SHARE Members Think Makes a Good Supervisor or Manager

In the SHARE survey, 70% of SHARE members rank respect and how department leaders treat people as a high priority for improving their day-to-day experience at work, higher than any other item on the list. In our survey, SHARE members had a lot to say about what makes managers and supervisors helpful in making their department run better, as well as what their managers could do better.

Here are some of the ideas the SHARE Negotiating Team brought to the table in the discussion about how to improve supervisor and manager interactions with SHARE members.

How some managers show respect and help the department run better:
  • Involve staff in decisions, ask our opinions
  • Share information often & with everyone
  • Pitch in when we are short-staffed
  • Good listener, and available
  • Open to new ideas
  • Treat everyone fairly
  • Help us fix problems
  • Give recognition for hard work

What other managers do that does not help the department run better:
  • Micro-manage – not trust staff to do their jobs
  • Favoritism: Treat some people better than others
  • Criticize someone in front of co- workers or patients
  • Think s/he knows best
  • Not understanding the work we do
  • “Run hot and cold” or add drama to the workplace

 In SHARE’s opinion, UMass Memorial has had a culture of a “command and control” style of managing over the years. Not every manager for sure, but in general. In contract negotiations we are talking with management about how we can together move UMass Memorial toward a new more supportive and collaborative model of managing. We don’t know exactly how to do that, but we’re working on it!

Free Online Associate Degrees for SHARE Members

IMG_0981.PNGAs a SHARE member, through the AFSCME Free College Benefit, you and your family can now earn an associate degree completely online–for FREE. SHARE leaders learned about this new program when it was announced last week at the AFSCME International Convention.

The benefit is offered through our parent organization, AFSCME, in cooperation with Eastern Gateway Community College, to provide members and their families “the chance to earn an online degree from an accredited school with no out-of-pocket expense,” as described on the program flyer. The program is open to active and retired AFSCME members, their children, and dependents.

The degree programs are currently limited to Associate of Business Management, Associate of Criminal Justice, and Associate of Arts (which can be used to progress into baccalaureate programs including psychology, sociology, English, history, fine arts, and communications). An Early Childhood Education degree will be offered beginning next year. 

 The program is designed to welcome traditional as well as non-traditional students, including those who have been out of school for a long time, and to be flexible, allowing participants to work while earning their degree. And the degrees are designed to parallel the first two years of related Bachelor's Degree programs to make the coursework transferable.
Learn how the program works by clicking HERE.

The application process involves submitting a simple application form, along with a completed FAFSA form, and school transcripts. Applicants are required to include their AFSCME member number. Although SHARE does not receive information about member numbers, we will be happy to help you find out yours. If you receive mailings to your home from AFSCME, including the AFSCME Works magazine, you can find that number on the address label. Your ID number will look something like this:


SHARE is extremely excited for this new offering. If you run into difficulty finding answers to any questions, we're happy to help: please call the SHARE office at 508-929-4020.

SHARE PCAs, LPNs, and MAs – Do you want to go back to school? A great opportunity is back!


Last year, SHARE, Worcester State University and UMass Memorial put together a program to help direct caregivers get started at college. We are excited that the Pathways Program has been so successful that WSU is currently preparing for the next wave of classes. To learn more about how you can take advantage, join coordinator Amy Ebbeson at one of the drop-in information sessions listed on the below flyer. You can also contact her directly by phone at (508) 929-8416, or email aebbeson@worcester.edu.

Why?

It's affordable, at a convenient time and place, and not scary! This program is designed for people who may not have been in a classroom for a long time. You earn 9 or more college credits, which you can transfer to other colleges if you want. You get coaching and support, and you get help making a plan for continuing your education at the end. Your classmates will be other SHARE members in the same boat.

Convenient time: You can do the classes during the day or in the evening. The first group will meet one evening per week (Wednesdays 4:30-7:30pm), starting in April 13th and going through October. A second group will go to classes during the day, starting September 2016 and going through April 2017.

Convenient locations – All classes located at University, Memorial or Hahnemann campuses.

Affordable – The first "getting started" class is free to you – UMass Memorial will pay for it! For the next three classes (3 credits each), you get tuition remission from UMass Memorial for much of the cost. UMass Memorial has agreed to pay that amount up front so that you don’t have to come up with the money ahead of time, like you usually have to -- which is awesome. (If you start but don’t finish a class, you will have to pay back the money.)



To sign up: You can go to OurNet then My HR. Look for "Learning" and click on that. Look for the Direct Care Workers Pathways Program. You can also find it on the Worcester State University website.


Please note:  A state grant is paying for part of this program, and the state limited the program to people currently working as Patient Care Assistants, Licensed Practical Nurses, and Medical Assistants (or Medical Office Assistants). We wish we could make this opportunity available to all SHARE members – if this grant goes well, maybe we can do that in the future!

Phasing Out of "Spousal Coordination"

Good news for SHARE members who have had to deal with "spousal coordination" of their family health insurance -- it's going away!

Spousal coordination required SHARE members hired after 7/1/2008 to put their spouse on the spouse's employer's health insurance, if possible, even if the SHARE member purchased a family plan to cover children. UMass Memorial reimbursed the cost of the spouse's individual plan, and paid any extra to "top off" the spouse's coverage so that the employee didn't lose anything. It was supposed to cost no more to the SHARE member, but save UMass Memorial money.

UMass Memorial had proposed the plan to SHARE, feeling that area companies rely on the hospital's good health insurance coverage for spouses, saving those other companies money.

SHARE members thought spousal coordination was confusing, and a lot of paperwork to get reimbursed.

SHARE (and probably many others) had complained about spousal coordination to Human Resources. We asked if it really did save the hospital money, once the additional work was taken into account.

Human Resources has decided to discontinue the plan this year: New employees won't be signed up for it starting now, and SHARE members who already have won't anymore in the next health insurance year, starting January 2017.

HR has told SHARE that they are committed to helping SHARE members with the transition if there are problems with the timing of the spouse's health insurance year.

Solidarity


Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the Orlando Pulse Nightclub Shooting, their families and their friends. 

We stand in solidarity with all those affected by this senseless violence, directly or indirectly, and especially with our own LGBTQ, Latino, and Muslim communities here at UMass Memorial Hospital and UMass Medical School.​

No Voting Required This Year for SHARE Rep and Executive Board Members

We received more than 50 nominations for SHARE Rep and Executive Board, and there are enough positions for all the nominees. A vote is only held when here are more people running than there are positions to run for.

Congratulations to the new and returning SHARE representatives, who are now considered elected! A list of all SHARE Reps and Executive Board members will be posted soon, right here on this blog.

Questions? Please call the SHARE office at 508-929-4020.

SHARE Leader Nominations Open

Now's the time to think about nominating someone to be a SHARE leader. Are you interested in becoming more active in the SHARE union? Or is there a co-worker who you think would make a good SHARE Rep? Nominations are open now for SHARE Rep positions and for some of the SHARE Executive Board positions. You can nominate yourself or a co-worker.

Nominations are due in the SHARE office by Thursday, May 19th at 5pm. If there are too many candidates running for any position, we will have an election on June 16.

To read all about how to nominate someone, what SHARE Reps do, and all the rest of the information, click here for the full letter. (You may have already seen this letter in your mail at home.)

SHARE Phones are Down

Just a quick post to let SHARE members know that our office phones are down, and have been since yesterday afternoon. Verizon is supposed to come work on the problem this afternoon -- with the strike going on at Verizon, we'll keep our fingers crossed that our phones can get fixed soon.

In the meantime, click here for a list of email addresses for SHARE Organizers.

Saving for Retirement: Advice for Young (and Not-So-Young) Workers

The US Department of Labor blog recently included a post entitled “Saving for Retirement: Advice for Young Workers.” The piece illustrates how investing earlier in your career pays off in a big way. 


In their “Top 10 Things Everyone Should Know about Saving for Retirement,” lifehacker.com describes the payoff of long-term investing a little more boldly: “Compounding interest is so powerful it’s almost magical.” Their Top Ten list includes a number of tips, tools, and useful resources.

Among other things, Lifehacker advises readers not to miss out on an employer’s matching contribution. That advice becomes even more valuable for SHARE members next year, when UMass Memorial doubles its match, as described in the Pension Reform section on page 3 of the most recent SHARE-UMMHC Contract Agreement.


Union-Management Partnership: the Kaiser Permanente Approach




SHARE reps at Memorial talking with KP leaders
Earlier this month, Walter Allen, a representative of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, asked SHARE leaders to imagine a meeting of hospital employees . . . and then to imagine the roles blurred so you couldn't pick out who among them was a manager. At Kaiser Permanente, Walter explained, their Labor Management Partnership (LMP) is creating this kind of culture. Employees and managers in their hospital network train up together to work side-by-side in partnership, to handle operations and make decisions at every level and throughout the entire system.
A UNIQUE MODEL of UNIONISM

SHARE invited KP representatives from Kaiser Permanente’s Labor Management Partnership to come speak with our own EBoard and Reps (as well UMass Memorial's executive leaders and members of the hospital's Labor Management department), because their organization can claim one of the largest and longest-running Labor-Management partnerships in the country. (The Union Coalition itself consists of roughly 110,00 members.) Because that partnership has had made measurable improvements on the care-giving, culture, morale, quality, and profitability of their hospitals, we believe we have much to learn from their experience. Walter, along with a management counterpart from the LMP, Marie Monrad, gave us a lot to chew on.

This visit was part of a SHARE effort to understand what’s working out there, in the broader worlds of healthcare and labor, as we prepare for our upcoming contract negotiations. We want to change how it feels to come to work every day. We know that we need to replace the “command-and-control, shame-and-blame” culture that exists in so many departments. That change is essential for the long-term health of SHARE members, of our SHARE union, and our hospital. We know that those improvements will translate into a better environment for our patients, too. Walter and Marie came to help us think about whether and how deeper Labor-Management partnership could work for us toward those goals in our hospital.

Walter Allen and Marie Monrad from Kaiser Permanente with Nancy Bickford and Bobbi-Jo Lewis of the SHARE EBoard






UNIT-BASED TEAMS
A key feature of Kaiser Permanente’s approach to partnership is the Unit-Based Team, or UBT. They define the UBT as “a group of frontline employees, managers, physicians and dentists whose work brings them together naturally and who collaborate with one another to improve member and patient care. They are accountable for the performance of their unit and determine the methods and metrics of their performance improvement projects."

One thing that appealed to many SHARE leaders about the UBT model is that the teams required to hold certain principles in balance as they make decisions. So, when UBT's decide the best, most affordable quality and service, they continually balance those choices with their own interest in making Kaiser Permanente the kind of place where they want to work.
Marie Monrad (Vice President for Strategy and Operations Office of Labor Management Partnership, Kaiser Permanente), Walter Allen (Executive Director/CFO Local 30 & International Vice President Office & Professional Employees International Union, Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions), and Janet Wilder (SHARE Organizer)

THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE
Hospital system leaders at UMass Memorial are also researching a variety of options with the intention of transforming our hospital. Many SHARE members are already affected in their day-to-day work by the coming move to replace our current Information Technology system to EPIC.  And you may also remember that SHARE leaders have accompanied UMMHC leaders on visits to a Thedacare Hospital in Wisconsin, and have sat in sessions together at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement conferences, the largest gathering of its kind.
If this talk about transformation provokes in you some serious questions--about both your union and your employer--that’s good. Many SHARE members can remember a variety of “flavor-of-the-month” consultants brought in by previous hospital administrations to teach employees some method of improvement. Some of these efforts were better, some worse, and none of them fit deeply enough with our culture to last for long. Any solution that works for UMass Memorial is going to have to be home-grown, and everyone here must be involved.
DOING IT OURSELVES

The management-side representative from Kaiser Permanente, Marie, had only good things to say about their unions’ participation. While in Worcester, she made the case to UMass Memorial leaders that partnership was far more productive than the intense labor management fighting and adversarialism that had driven their hospital system to find this new approach in the first place.

SHARE believes that an employer needs a strong partner in order for partnership to be successful. A critical component to any employee engagement strategy is that the front-line workers need to be safe to participate.  A good employer can and should respect employees, but any employer’s goodwill and benevolence has its limits. Employees require their own, independent source of power.
Over the years, SHARE has developed an understanding of the real work needed to engage members in decision-making. Walter and Marie were insistent that the deep commitment to partnership at Kaiser Permanente often requires extreme effort, too. SHARE is going to have a lot of work to do if our next negotiations is going to maintain the kinds of raises and benefits that we’ve all come to expect, and, too, develop new structures that will change how it feels to come to work every day. There's much to figure out. We intend to do this right. And we’re going to do this together.

If you'd like to learn more about Kaiser Permanente and details about their Labor Management Partnership, you can ask your SHARE organizer or local rep what we've discussed, or contact the SHARE office. There are also a number of resources with information on the subject:

Questions or suggestions about this website? Email kirk.davis@theshareunion.org