On Weds, March 15, SHARE held back-to-back half-hour meetings for members, at 12:00, 12:30, and 1:00. People dropped in on their lunch break.
For those who were not able to attend, below are the agenda topics (numbered) and some of the things that came up in discussion (the bulleted points). Please let us know if you have any questions.
SHARE Member Meeting 3/15/23
1. Report on Contract Raises
a. Previously reported
· The Covid Appreciation Bonus was paid 12/9/22
· The Raise was in the 12/23/22 paycheck
· The Retro was in the 1/6/23 paycheck
b. The update
· performance bonuses for “exceeds” or “outstanding” – 1/20/23
· probationary raises for people hired January-June 2022 – 3/3/23
· review of people who were promoted out of SHARE after April 1, 2022 and missed the SHARE bonus and the non-union bonus – predicted for 3/17/23
2. AFL-CIO Scholarship
Each year, the AFL-CIO in Central MA presents several union members’ children or grandchildren with several $500.00 or $1000.00 scholarships to assist with college costs. Please see the links below for more information and to apply.
· https://theshareunion.net/scholarshipletter2023.pdf
· https://theshareunion.net/scholarshipapplication2023.pdf
3. Childcare Fund (up to 12) and NEW Academic Enrichment Fund (up to 18)
In addition to the childcare fund which has assisted our members for years with costs for camps, after school programs and childcare, SHARE has recently negotiated new benefits available to members who have kids up to 18. These benefits can assist with paying for costs such as SAT prep, tutoring, and college application costs.
See links below for more info, or contact Jameal at Jameal.Jackson@theshareunion.org, or Andrea at Andrea.Caceres@theshareunion.org.
https://www.shareumms.org/academic-enrichment
4. Report on Reclassification Hearings
This past week, we had our annual reclassification hearings with HR and management. This process is available every January to SHARE members who feel they are in the wrong grade for the work they perform.
This year, we had reclassification review applications from both the Mental Health Counselor and Animal Care Tech job titles. In both cases, SHARE members representing their coworkers presented their cases for grade and equity reviews. Shout out to our members Jeff and Charles from the ACCU and Samantha, Chris, Farren and Greg from Animal Medicine for doing an outstanding job!
5. Other Topics
Weather (1 inch to 24 inches of snow!)
Working from home
People are busy and departments are hiring