In August of this year, UMass Chan announced that they would no longer be handling the DMH contract for the Continuing Care Units and effective January 20, 2024, Worcester Recovery Center would be taking over operations. This announcement will result in the layoff of the 31 remaining SHARE members currently working at the CCU. Through our conversations with the unions which will represent these staff after January 20th, SHARE has been able to help our members transition to their new positions at the Worcester Recovery Center.
In 1985, UMass Chan began operating a 30 bed, Adolescent Psychiatric program under contract through the Department of Mental Health. This program, commonly known as the “CCU,” served some of the most challenging youth in the state of Massachusetts. When SHARE formed our union at UMass Medical School, we began working to support the Mental health Counselors, L.P.N.s, Admins, O.T. Coordinators and E.B.S. staff at the CCU. We established our first Joint Working Group at the CCU, which enabled SHARE members to work with management on safety and staffing issues. Over the next 20 plus years, this Joint Working Group was the source of innovative and important changes which benefited the SHARE members working in this demanding environment. SHARE and CCU management maintained a long-lasting partnership, and always worked through issues collaboratively.
In 2020, the CCU began to face significant staffing concerns which later were compounded by the pandemic. SHARE successfully advocated for more competitive wages, and contract language which added incentives to staff who were “mandated,” or forced to work beyond their scheduled shift. However, these financial gains did not fix the staffing issues and over the next two years, nearly half of the SHARE positions at the CCU were vacated. Turnover also affected the management team, and a new leadership team took over in early 2022. Outside agency staff had also been relied upon to keep the CCU safely staffed.
On a personal note, I (A.J.) spent 10 years working as a Mental Health Counselor at the CCU, side by side with two long standing EBoard members, Charles Gayflor and George Boley, and many other dedicated SHARE members. I have had the privilege of working with staff who possess an incomparable level of compassion, and tireless commitment to the youth passing through the CCU on their journey to recovery. They have truly made a significant impact in these patients’ lives.
We at SHARE greatly appreciate the contributions our members at the CCU have made towards strengthening our union. We wish them all the best!
A.J., Andrea, Elisabeth, Jameal and Jana