SHARE Member Meeting Notes 9/16/2020

On Wednesday, 9/16/2020, we had back-to-back half-hour meetings for SHARE members. People dropped in when they could between 12:00 and 2:00. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, October 21. We will send an email reminder with the link when we are closer to the date.

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.

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SHARE Member Meeting Notes - Wednesday 9/16/20 12:00-2:00pm

1. Using Zoom - Quick overview on Muting/Unmuting, Video, using the Chat, etc. for computer or phone

2. Introductions – name, department, and where you are working from now (on-site or home or mixed)

3. SHARE’s birthday & being a union during a pandemic – staying in touch, solving problems, negotiating…

   • We formed the union 23 years ago so that people could support each other and have a say in decisions that affect them

   • One-to-one conversations and group meetings build relationships, and that keeps our union strong

   • The pandemic has changed the ways we interact with each other, it’s easy to feel disconnected

   • The first 2 months were spent deciding together at meetings how to handle the raise/furlough/contract extension question

   • The next 4 months we were helping individuals with issues about work, working from home, balancing childcare, and following up on some compensation issues from before the pandemic

   • As a union, we are better at doing things than we are at reporting on what we do

   • Suggestions of what would help: periodic meetings like the town halls; written agendas and updates

   • Please email Elisabeth if you have other suggestions

4. Flu vaccine – legality & exemption questions

   • UMass is requiring flu vaccine for all employees this year with 3 exceptions: 1. You have a medical reason that you can’t get the shot; 2. You have a strongly held religious belief that prevents you from getting the shot; 3. If you do not ever work on campus during the flu season then it is strongly recommended but not required

   • UMass Memorial has the same policy

   • Is it legal? Yes. The MNA (Mass Nurses Association) took this issue to court in 2018 when the Brigham instituted the same basic policy, and lost

   • Does it mean that employees could be forced to get a COVID vaccine? No. The flu vaccine has been around for a long time and there is a lot of evidence about its risks and benefits. We don’t know yet whether there will be a COVID vaccine or, if there is one (or more), how effective and safe it will be. The Medical School leadership is not speculating about what they would think about a COVID vaccine, and the courts have not ever ruled on the question.

   • There will be opportunity to get vaccine at work. Also ok to get it from your doctor or CVS or wherever and bring documentation to prove it.

   • SHARE is following up with HR on some questions

5. Furlough update

   • A small number of the furloughed people have been called back to work

   • Another small group are doing temp work in testing program

   • Others are looking for work or waiting to hear if they will be called back to their old departments

   • Unemployment benefits have been a giant pain in the neck, with people going up to 6 weeks with their payments on hold (this is because of the fraud issue in the news, the Dept of Unemployment Assistance is going back and triple checking claims even after they have been approved)

   • SHARE holds a weekly Zoom meeting for furloughed employees to share information and tips for dealing with DUA, and to give each other moral support

   • Departments have to either call people back by the end of November, or completely lay them off

   • Some people are starting to hear from their departments that they will be called back to work

6. Work from home

   • At the Town Hall meeting we heard again that most people will continue working as they are, at least through 12/31/20. After that it depends on how the pandemic is going.

   • People are struggling with supervising their kids’ school work and working themselves

7. Rep and executive board roles – more reps make a stronger union: everyone connected & multiple perspectives

   • The more the merrier. Please contact a SHARE staff person if you want to get more involved or talk about what it would mean to be more involved

8. Anything else…

   • Have we heard anything about whether the raise will be delivered this year? No. If the non-union employees get a raise, then SHARE members will get our raise too. But we have not heard anything about whether there will be a raise this year.

   • The Medical School ended the year in the black, which is good news

SHARE Update September 2020

The following email was sent to all SHARE members at UMMS on 9/11/2020…

Hi SHARE member,

SHARE’s Birthday 

Our original union election was held September 9, 10 and 11 of 1997. SHARE is 23 years old this week. Happy Anniversary​ to us!

Union Strength

We keep our union strong by trying to form a connection between each member and someone who is active in SHARE. Before the pandemic, that meant conversations between coworkers in the workplace, lunchtime meetings, SHARE staff ​and leaders visiting departments to check in with people, and lots of interactions as SHARE members happened to bump into a SHARE rep informally.

Since the lockdown started 6 months ago, we have found ways to be in touch about specific issues, but we are missing the more general contact that maintains the relationships that sustain the union. So we want to introduce three new approaches.

• Monthly Member Meetings (on Zoom)

• Individual check-ins

• Invitation to be a SHARE Leader

SHARE Member Meetings start Wednesday, September 16

The first Member Meeting is Wednesday, September 16. We will be there 12:00-2:00 PM. Please drop in on your lunch break. We will have a short agenda on the half hour, and open discussion the rest of the time.

• Click to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85193161012?pwd=SERJUGFTd01ua0MyRDJrVTNkNmxSdz09

• Or call to join: 646-876-9923 and enter Meeting ID: 851 9316 1012 and Passcode: 485804

Individual Check-Ins

Over the next few months, SHARE leaders will be trying to contact members we haven’t been in touch with recently, to see how you are doing, whether you have any questions or concerns, and if there is anything we can do to help. Of course, please feel free to contact us anytime.

Invitation to be a SHARE Leader – please let us know by September 30 if you are interested

This fall, we would like to invite any SHARE member who would like to be an Area Rep or an Executive Board Member to join us in that role.

Normally we have nominations for SHARE Area Reps and SHARE Executive Board Members in the fall, and then there is an election if there are more candidates than there are positions. Holding a safe, socially distanced, in-person election would be difficult. We do have the option to hold an election by mail. Or we can just squeeze in everyone who is interested.

Now more than ever, the more SHARE members who step forward to help out, the stronger our union will be. So, if it is ok with everyone, we would like to just say Yes to all volunteers this fall. Please let us know if you have objections or questions about this.

What do SHARE Area Reps and Executive Board Members do?

Area Reps can get training to do different things, based on interest:

• keeping their co-workers up-to-date on union news

• answering questions or directing them to someone who knows the answer

• making sure their coworkers’ ideas and concerns are heard within SHARE

• being an expert on a particular topic, like workers compensation, who members can call with questions

• supporting members who have a disciplinary meeting with their manager

• supporting members who have a non-disciplinary issue to discuss with their manager

• Reps have a 1-year term

SHARE Executive Board members do the same things that regular SHARE Reps do, plus:

• they have responsibility for the whole union, and meet every few weeks to address union-wide issues

• they form the negotiating team when our contract is up for re-negotiation every few years

• Executive Board Members have a 2-year term

Please let us know if you would like to be a SHARE Area Rep or Executive Board Member, would like to suggest a coworker for Rep or Executive Board, or if you would like to know more about what those roles involve.

Take care, stay safe, and stay connected!

The SHARE Staff:

Andrea (andrea.caceres@theshareunion.org)

Jana (jana.hol@theshareunion.org)

Elisabeth (elisabeth.szanto@theshareunion.org)

Federal Aid for State and Local Governments

Congress is discussing a new Coronavirus stimulus bill. The House passed the HEROES Act (previously known as CARES 2) in May, but Senate Majority Leader McConnell declared it “dead on arrival” in the Senate and will introduce a new package of legislation when the Senate returns from their recess on July 20. The names of the bills change, but there is a consistent set of priorities that will help working families in general, and SHARE members in particular.

We wrote a few weeks ago about the HEROES Act encouraging SHARE members to advocate for front-line workers. This is part of the same campaign for America’s Five Economic Essentials. The details below are provided by our parent union, AFSCME, representing over a million public sector employees across the United States. We are asking SHARE members to help advocate for state and local aid from the federal government.

Urgent Action Needed on State and Local Aid

The next three weeks are absolutely critical to get our message across to Congress about the dire need for additional aid for state and local governments. 

We are focused on the Senate, because we need to push the Republican Senate to introduce a package with significant aid. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) earlier this week signaled his intention to introduce a bill by July 20th, when the Senate returns. We need to push right now for any Senate package to include our priorities.

AFSCME urges that Congress act immediately to provide significant state and local aid:

- At least $1 trillion in unrestricted state and local grants to replace lost revenues and continue public services.

- At least a 14-percentage point increase to the federal Medicaid match (FMAP). This provides relief to ensure states can cover millions of newly unemployed Americans needing Medicaid health services.

- At least $200 billion to public K-12 and higher education, including $25 billion to Title I and IDEA.

CARES Act Unemployment Enhancement Expires July 25

The CARES Act created the current unemployment enhancements: an extra $600/week, 13 weeks coverage beyond the normal 26 weeks, and extending UI to people who are self-employed. The $600/week enhancement expires July 25. Congress is considering whether and how to extend the benefits.

From the Maine Beacon:

A $600-a-week boost to federal unemployment benefits, which was passed as part of the federal CARES Act in March, will expire at the end of the month unless the U.S. Senate acts to extend it.

Last week, Senate Democrats introduced legislation, the American Workforce Rescue Act, which would extend the expanded weekly benefits and tie its phase-out to when state unemployment rates fall to certain levels.

The U.S. House has also passed legislation that would extend the benefit through January.

But Senate Republicans are against giving what they describe as “a bonus” to the 19.3 million people nationally and 90,297 in Maine with continuing unemployment claims.  

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his allies claim that unemployed Americans are reluctant to return to work because of the additional payment.

Click here to read the whole article in the Maine Beacon.

Click here to read a detailed summary of the American Workforce Rescue Act.

Click here for a list of Federal Coronavirus legislation that affects SHARE members.

Federal Legislation That impacts SHARE Members

Below is a very quick guide to a few Federal laws/bills that SHARE members should know about:

The CARES Act included the $1,200 stimulus checks, the Paycheck Protection Program, and the current unemployment enhancements (an extra $600/week, an extra 13 weeks, and extending UI to people who are self-employed)

The HEROES Act was passed by the House. It covers a lot of ground, including extending the CARES Act unemployment enhancement, but also state and local aid, support for hospitals, front-line workers, etc. It will not be passed by the Senate in its current form.

Coronavirus relief legislation (not yet named) will be considered by the Senate when they come back from recess on July 20, as an alternative to the HEROES Act. The Republican majority will put a package together. The exact details are not decided, and so there is a big push now with everyone lobbying for what they think should be in it.

The American Workforce Rescue Act was introduced by Senate Democrats before the Congressional recess, which is about continuing but gradually phasing out the unemployment provisions of the CARES Act.

Update on Furloughed SHARE Members

Unemployment Insurance Woes

SHARE members who were furloughed on June 1 have had a lot of trouble getting onto Unemployment. Some have now been paid for all 5 weeks since they were furloughed, but most have not, and many have still only received pay for only 1 or 2 weeks. Everyone has spent an enormous amount of time calling, emailing, filling out forms, mailing additional information as the requirements change, and trying to reach someone who can give them a definite answer.

You have probably seen on the news that the Department of Unemployment Assistance had a lot of fraudulent claims. They have added new steps, and this, on top of the record number of claims, has made applying for unemployment insurance much slower and more complicated, starting just before the 29 SHARE members were furloughed.

Supporting Each Other

SHARE hosts a weekly Zoom get together for the furloughed employees, so that no one has to go through this alone. Members share stories and tips, exchange information, and try to keep each others’ spirits up.

Getting Back to Work

Of the 29 SHARE members who were furloughed, two have been recalled to their jobs. We don’t have any information about when the rest will be called back. In the meanwhile, four furloughed members have taken temporary positions helping with the new weekly COVID testing program.

More Furloughs Possible?

SHARE members who do not have enough hours of work are using their own time off to get a full paycheck. If they run out of time and there is still not enough work, they may be partially furloughed. If you think you might be in this position, please get in touch with SHARE to talk about your options.

Unemployment Enhancement Expires July 25

Normally, unemployment benefits are about half of your weekly pay. At the moment, there is a enhancement that adds $600, which makes unemployment benefits close to full pay. So in theory, being on unemployment is not too painful economically, once people get through all the red tape and actually get benefits. This extra comes from the Federal government, as part of the CARES Act, and it expires July 25. Congress is considering bills that might extend the enhancement, although it seems likely that, even if it is extended, it would be reduced.

May 22 Email: SHARE Members Vote YES on Agreement

Hi SHARE members,

The votes are in. SHARE members have voted to accept the tentative agreement, with 81% voting YES.

Member participation makes the union strong

We want to thank all SHARE members for their participation in this process. Over the last 3 weeks, we have had a lot of honest conversations with each other about really difficult choices. Two-thirds of members voted in both SurveyMonkey votes. We have had dozens of Zoom meetings, and many, many, individual conversations. We can be proud of how we engaged with each other to figure this out.

What happens next?

Raises and contract extension: There will not be a raise on June 21, 2020. If non-union employees get a raise this year, then we will get our usual raise. Whatever happens this year, we will get a raise on June 20, 2021. And all the other protections in our contract are extended until June 30, 2022.

Admin time and comp time: This is the last week of admin pay and new comp time accruals.

Furloughs: Next week, employees on the layoff/furlough list will be notified that they are being furloughed. They will continue to be UMMS employees, continue to get benefits, can apply for unemployment, and we hope they will be back to work soon. SHARE Reps will work with anyone who has been furloughed to answer questions and provide support.

We hope you have a restful Memorial Day weekend.

Sincerely,

Elisabeth Szanto        elisabeth.szanto@theshareunion.org

Andrea Caceres         andrea.caceres@theshareunion.org

Jana Hollingsworth   jana.hol@theshareunion.org

Tell Congress to Support Front-Line Workers

CLICK THE BLACK BUTTON BELOW

TO HELP KEEP FRONT-LINE WORKERS — INCLUDING SHARE MEMBERS —

SAFE & SECURE 

Clicking on the button will take you to the website of our parent union, AFSCME. The website creates an email to your Congressperson, and to both of your Senators. It’s easy. You can add to the suggested email or replace it with your thoughts.  

PLEASE TAKE A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO DO THIS NOW  

June 17 is a national day of action for working people across the United States. Congress is currently considering another stimulus package to help Americans through the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill is called the HEROES Act, previously known as CARES 2. AFSCME and the AFL-CIO (the umbrella organization for unions across the country) are pushing Congress to support five priorities in that bill. 

AMERICA’S FIVE ECONOMIC ESSENTIALS  

All five priorities are focused on supporting working families, and the institutions they rely on. You can read more about these priorities here. Among other things, the priorities include these things that affect SHARE members at UMMS:

• State and Local Aid - which affects the Medical School’s ability to pay its employees

• Personal Protective Equipment for front-line workers, plus money for training and testing

• Unemployment benefits - for members furloughed or laid off as a result of COVID-19

Thanks for your support! 

COVID Comp Time and Admin Time

Comp Time Accruals

for essential employees who worked on campus March 16- May 23

Q. How much comp time do I have?

A. You should have accrued comp time for every hour that you worked on campus between March 16 and May 23. There has been confusion in some departments about the end date – the correct end date is May 23.

Q. Where is the amount of my comp time written down?

A. Comp time is tracked in the department – your manager should have a record of how much comp time you have. It is a good idea to check with your them to make sure that you both agree about how much time you have now.

Q. How long do I have before this comp time expires?

A. Comp time that you earned between March 16 and May 23 will not expire before June 21, 2021.

Q. What can I use this comp time for?

A. If you are not working your full schedule and need to use your own time to make up the difference, then you can use comp time:

• until June 20, 2020 only if you have used up all your vacation and personal time

• after June 20, 2020 whether or not you have used up your vacation and personal time

If you are working your full schedule and want to take some time off, then you can use your comp time as usual. There has been confusion in some departments about this. Feel free to share this information with you manager and have them contact Human Resources if they have any questions.

Admin Pay

for employees who did not have enough work for their full scheduled hours March 16-May 23

Q. What happened if I didn’t have enough work for my scheduled hours between March 16 and May 23?

A. The Medical School paid Admin Time to employees who did not work their scheduled hours March 16-May 23. For example, if you usually work 40 hours but you only had 30 hours of work in a week, then you got paid for your 30 hours, and you got 10 hours of Admin Pay.

There has been confusion in some departments about the end date – the correct end date is May 23. If you had to use your own time to get a full paycheck for any time between March 16 and May 23, please talk to your manager to get your time back, or contact SHARE if you run into difficulty.

Q. What happens now if I don’t have enough work for my scheduled hours?

A. You will have to use your own time (vacation, personal and comp time) to make up the difference.

• May 23-June 20: You have to use vacation time first. If you don’t have vacation time, you use personal time. If you don’t have personal time, you use comp time.

• After June 20: You can use comp time, personal time and vacation time in any order.

If you have used up all your time and still don’t have enough work for your scheduled hours, you and your manager should talk about temporarily reducing your scheduled hours (partial furlough). You may be eligible for unemployment, depending on how big the reduction is. Please contact SHARE for more information.

Employee Self-Reporting of COVID symptoms

Some SHARE members have asked if they have to use the Employee Self-Reporting app 7 days a week. The answer is No. The Medical School is asking employees to use the app every day, whether they are working or not. This is a good idea from a public health perspective. However, SHARE has not agreed that SHARE members are required to report their symptoms on non-work days.

The Medical School is asking all employees, once they return to campus, to use a phone app or computer every day to report whether they have COVID symptoms. There are 3 questions: Symptom Status, Have you been in contact with Employee Health Services, and Work Location/Status.

This self-reporting is part of the Medical School’s plan to make sure that if someone comes down with the Coronavirus, they can keep it from spreading to too many people. It’s a good idea, and the more people who report, and the more consistently people report, the safer everyone will be. This is why health experts and the Medical School want people to report 7 days a week, whether they are working or not.

Hourly employee, like SHARE members, cannot be required to use the app on days that they are not working. It would be helpful to the community to do it as many days as possible, and SHARE encourages doing it every day if you can. However, you should not get in trouble for failing to use the app on a day that you are not working. Please let us know if you need any help getting this cleared up.

A Message from SHARE

Dear Member,

Right now, in the very deepest part of our hearts, we are grieving. This week has been one of revelations and affirmations. Our country is suffering.

SHARE stands with the Black community—Black Lives Matter. The systemic oppression of Black people, including the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many before them, continues to be woven into our cultural fabric. We are all subject to the pervasive virus of racism.

We formed our union in 1997 to have a say in decisions that affect us, to set a standard of treating every single person with kindness and respect, and to cultivate community. Our strength comes from building relationships, listening to each other's stories, and taking care of one another. We are committed to standing with our most vulnerable members who experience discrimination, racism, harm, and injustice. ​In this moment, it is particularly important to support the Black and Brown ​members of our community.

Today we simultaneously feel worry, outrage, impotence. We are brokenhearted. But in moments like this, even with a global pandemic still looming over us all, a community response is needed. Building relationships of trust and taking care of each other are needed here. Together, we can demand and create justice. We must make sure that workers on the front lines are heard, and have the resources needed to find a path forward, one that includes justice, dignity, respect, and love in action. 

How will this moment activate us? Can we build a new way of living with one another? To do so, we need to stop and listen with intention. Without rushing into reflexive action, we must learn even more fully and deeply from those of us in the Black and Brown communities.

Our conversations may include periods of what seem like silence, of unsaid words that people can’t or won’t share. Or, we may hear hard truths. And some of us will likely say the wrong things. These are difficult conversations; we will have to listen to each other with compassion and engage with respect. 

SHARE will continue its work building strength through relationships of trust and building bridges among our communities. We extend an open invitation for you to continue with us in this work. We intend to listen.

In Solidarity,

SHARE

May 8 Email to SHARE members

Dear SHARE members,

We want to share with you the important news that management has agreed to extend negotiations about layoffs and cost-cutting for an additional week.

What does this mean for SHARE members?

• The 32 SHARE employees identified for furlough/layoff will not be notified for another week;

• Admin pay has been extended until May 15th;

• Essential employees who are reporting to work will continue to accrue hour-for-hour comp time next week; and

• SHARE members will need to vote again next week to make a final decision.

We have scheduled additional Zoom meetings so that we can come together to discuss our options and make a plan about how to move forward.

SHARE Member Meetings

• Monday, May 11th  1-2 PM

• Tuesday, May 12th   12-1 PM & 5-6 PM

• Wednesday,  May 13th  12-1 PM & 2-3 PM

Please join via Zoom at : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84323193912?pwd=L2djL01wdTFQMTVPSEQySzFPSUxRZz09

and by phone: 301-715-8592 Meeting ID: 84323193912 Password: 007511

The meaningful participation of SHARE members in this process has made a significant difference in our ability to continue our discussions with the University. Our voices have been heard, and we will continue to engage in a constructive discussion with management, to find a solution that everyone can live with.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

The SHARE Staff

Elisabeth Szanto

Jana Hollingsworth

Andrea Caceres

May 7 SHARE Vote Results

On May 7 we sent an email to management explaining that the vote did not result in a majority approving their proposal. We explained that we thought that our positions were not that far apart, and proposed extending the negotiating deadline by a week, and bringing in a mediator, in order to try again to reach an agreement.

The following email went to SHARE members:

Hi SHARE members,

SHARE members have voted on UMMS’ proposal to furlough 32 SHARE members (instead of laying them off) in exchange for SHARE members giving up their 6/21/20 raise and other concessions (with the understanding that the raises would be reinstated if non-union employees received a raise.)

Result: No change is made to the SHARE contract because no option received a majority

There were 3 options on the ballot and 213 votes total. In order to win, one choice would have to receive a majority of votes cast, which would be 107.

Vote Count:

• OPTION 1 (NO to management’s proposal) received 55 votes

• OPTION 2 (YES to management’s proposal) received 81 votes

• OPTION 3 (YES to putting SHARE’s counter-proposal back on the table, knowing that if management said no to it again then they would likely implement OPTION 1, layoffs instead of furloughs) received 77 votes

What Happens Now?

This is a complicated situation, without the usual amount of time for resolving the complications. Under AFSCME’s voting rules, the next step would be a run-off election between the top two vote getters, OPTION 2 and OPTION 3. There is no time to do that before the deadline we have been set.

We cannot agree to their proposal without a majority approving it. However, it is clear that a large number of SHARE members are willing to make a sacrifice of some kind in order to help their coworkers; 158 votes went toward some kind of compromise. In our last negotiating session yesterday, our proposals got closer to each other. And there are additional possibilities of saving money that could be explored.

Letting this agreement fall apart will harm both parties:

• UMass will not only not gain the savings they were looking for, they will also spend $250,000 in notice and severance pay that they do not need to spend if they furlough people instead

• Employees will lose out on the benefits of being furloughed instead of laid off

We propose to management that we extend the deadline in order to try again to reach an agreement.

We will see what they say. And we will be back in touch.

The SHARE Staff,

Elisabeth Szanto, Jana Hollingsworth, Andrea Caceres

May 6 Email re Voting and Voluntary Furloughs

Hi SHARE members,

We are writing for two reasons related to the ongoing negotiations with management about cost cutting, layoffs, and saving as many jobs as possible:

1. To give you information about how SHARE members can vote on the layoff v. furloughs issue

2. To assess interest among individual SHARE members for a voluntary furlough

Voting

We have never tried to negotiate, discuss, and vote on an agreement during a pandemic before, so the process will be very different from usual.

• When: Tonight and Tomorrow – Wednesday May 6th 6:00 PM - Thursday, May 7th 2:00 PM

• How: SurveyMonkey -  A work email invitation to vote will be sent out later today

• What we are voting on: We will send the vote choices when we send the link to vote later today. We are meeting with management one more time to try to come to an agreement before then.

About voting by SurveyMonkey:

• Only dues-paying SHARE members will be invited to vote

• The invitation will be sent to only one email address per member. By default, we will use your WORK EMAIL address. If you do not have access to your work email, please let us know what email address to use instead

• SHARE staff will be able to see who voted, but not how they voted

• No one will be able to vote more than once, so don’t click “DONE” until you have made your final decision

• You will need access to a computer or smartphone or tablet in order to vote by SurveyMonkey. If you will not be able to vote by SurveyMonkey, please contact us right away so that we can figure out how to arrange for you to vote.

• If you are not a dues-paying member of SHARE, you will be allowed to sign a membership card and vote. Please contact us for a card ahead of time to ensure that there are no technical difficulties with voting.

Voluntary Furloughs

If you are interested in learning more about what it would mean to take a voluntary furlough, please get in touch with SHARE to discuss it further. We would talk with you about the options, and the process for moving forward it you want to.

Please note, we are only assessing interest:

1. You are not volunteering by expressing an interest. We will not pass your name on to management without your permission.

2. We cannot guarantee a furlough to anyone who wants a furlough. We can only guarantee that SHARE staff will talk with you about it, and then talk with management about it, if you want us to.

This is part of our negotiations with the Medical School about cutting costs and saving as many jobs as possible.

Let us know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

The SHARE Staff:

Elisabeth elisabeth.szanto@theshareunion.org

Jana jana.hol@theshareunion.org

Andrea andrea.caceres@theshareunion.org

May 1 Email and FAQ to SHARE members

Hello SHARE members,

This email is long, but important. We are writing to all SHARE members to tell you what UMMS management has proposed about layoffs, explain what it means for us, and get you involved in the conversation about what we should do about it… together as a union.

The Medical School is furloughing about 100 non-union employees. You may have heard about this at the Chancellor’s Town Hall meeting on Tuesday or read about it in the news.

Some SHARE members will also be affected. Because we have a union, management cannot simply announce what they are going to do; it has to be negotiated. So, as a union, we have some decisions to make together, and fast.

Discussion about layoffs and a one-week delay (see FAQ for more detailed timeline)

Last Friday, Medical School management told us that they were planning layoffs, and offered us a potential Plan B. They would either:

A.     Lay off 32 SHARE members, or

B.     Furlough the same 32 SHARE members, in exchange for concessions including giving up our negotiated June 21 raise.

Wednesday, they told us they would need to know whether we could give up the raises by the end of the day or they would move forward with laying off the 32 SHARE members instead of furloughing them. We explained that we were not allowed to do that. SHARE leaders could not give up negotiated raises without discussion with, and approval by, SHARE members.

Instead, we offered to have a discussion with SHARE members about whether they would be willing to give up or delay their raises, in addition to the other sacrifices that they have made, to support the School in this crisis. Management has agreed to delay the threatened layoffs by one week while we have this conversation with members.

Furloughs vs. Layoffs

Furloughs are like layoffs in that the furloughed person can apply for unemployment insurance, but there are some important differences. The short version is that the proposed furloughs would be better financially both for SHARE members and for the medical school (see FAQ about why).

For that reason, SHARE is in favor of furloughs rather than layoffs. However, the medical school wants to save more money than that, and so they are using this issue as leverage to get SHARE members to give up more.

Choices

All around us we see examples of communities coming together to handle this once-in-a-century pandemic. We see unprecedented efforts by federal, state and local governments to keep workers employed and the economy from failing. We want to achieve such a result with UMMS.

To be clear, we have the right to just say no to this proposal. That is option 1. We can stick to our contract, our negotiated rights, and the raises we bargained. That is our absolute right as a union. The downside is that it would be worse for the 32 coworkers who are, at least temporarily, losing their jobs.

Option 2 would be to agree to management’s proposal. The 32 coworkers would still be on unemployment for a while, but they would be in better shape financially, they would have status as employees with a possible return date, and they would have health insurance. The downside is that all SHARE members would be giving up their raise in exchange.

Or there is a third option. Option 3 would be to come up with a different way to address the School’s needs, and make a counter-proposal to management. They have to consider our counter-proposals. They don’t have to agree to them. However, if a counter-proposal addresses their needs, and is preferable for SHARE members, then it would be hard for UMass to explain why they would not agree to it.

Zoom member meetings

We invite you to join us at a virtual member meeting to discuss the situation and what we should do about it. Please RSVP for the meeting you would like to attend, with your email address, and we will send you a link to the Zoom meeting.

• 1:00-2:00pm today, Friday 5/1

• 5:00-6:00pm today, Friday 5/1

• 10:00-11:00am Saturday 5/2

• 12:00-1:00pm Monday 5/4

• 2:00-3:00pm Monday 5/4

• 5:00-6:00pm Monday 5/4

After these initial meetings, when we have a clearer idea of how SHARE members would like to proceed, we will schedule a series of follow up meetings.

If you have questions or would like to talk about this outside of a meeting, please talk to a SHARE Rep in your area, or email one of the SHARE staff. Thank you for your patience as we get back to everyone as quickly as we can.

Sincerely,

The SHARE Staff:

Andrea Caceres         Andrea.Caceres@theshareunion.org

Jana Hollingsworth   Jana.Hol@theshareunion.org

Elisabeth Szanto        Elisabeth.Szanto@theshareunion.org

The SHARE Executive Board:

Jameal Jackson, CEAP

AJ Iaconi, CCU

Leliz Cedrone, CPS

Valerie Mount, Animal Medicine

Antonio Jimenez, CCU

Debra Manseau, Neurology

Samantha Jimenez, Animal Medicine

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FAQ

Who is on the proposed layoff list?

We cannot say who is on the list, because it has not yet been decided what it will mean for the people involved, or even whether the list is final. We are sorry, because we know that people will be anxious. What we can do now is try to make sure that the list is fair, and to protect the SHARE members on and off the list as best as possible. Anyone who is on it will find out when they are told about the layoff or furlough, probably next Friday.

Will there be more layoffs or furloughs after this?

There could be. Unfortunately, because of the Coronavirus, no one knows how quickly the Medical School will go back to “normal”, or exactly what the new normal will be.  We also don’t know how much support UMMS will get from the State or Federal government to help balance the Medical School’s budget. So the School has to plan for the different possibilities.

If the work comes back, then UMass would want everyone back to work. Furloughed employees would be called back. Laid off employees who are in SHARE have a right to be reinstated if their old position becomes available.

If the work does not come back, or there is less work, then there could be more furloughs or layoffs. Employees who were furloughed could also have their furlough converted to a layoff.

What is the difference between Furloughs and Layoffs?

Furloughs are like layoffs in that the furloughed person can apply for unemployment insurance. But there are some important differences.

1. Money: A furlough would start right away, without the 4 weeks of notice plus 2-8 weeks of severance that our contract calls for. That sounds like it would be worse for a SHARE member who got furloughed, but there is an important other factor right now: the CARES Act adds $600/week to the usual unemployment benefit until the end of July. So for the next 3 months, most SHARE members would actually make more on unemployment than they do in their job. After that, the unemployment benefit would be the usual (about 50% of pay) until the end of the furlough. Note that a furlough is also better for UMass, because they would not have to pay notice and severance.

2. Employee status: A furloughed employee continues to be a UMass employee, and has a return date (that would be no more than 6 months from the furlough date). It is not guaranteed that they would be brought back to their job, but that is the intention. With a layoff, if the job opened back up, they would need to be rehired.

3. Health Insurance: UMass would agree to pay the employee portion and the employer portion of the health insurance premium until the end of July. After that, the furloughed person would be able to keep their GIC insurance by paying the employee portion and UMass would pay the employer portion.

How long has this conversation about layoffs been going on between UMass and SHARE?

The conversation only really got started last Friday. Here is the full timeline:

Since March, SHARE has been asking questions and offering suggestions about how to avoid wage loss and layoffs while helping the Medical School get through the current crisis.

Since the beginning of April, we have been reminding them that we needed to work out together what would happen after May 2.

Last Friday, Medical School management responded. They told us that they were planning layoffs, and offered us a potential Plan B. They would either:

1. Lay off 32 SHARE members, or

2. Furlough the same 32 SHARE members, in exchange for concessions including giving up our negotiated June 21 raise.

On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, SHARE responded with alternative ideas for cost savings and shared sacrifice, and asked for clarification about some of the details of the proposal. Management listened to our ideas, but did not respond. We got answers to some of our questions, but are still waiting for some information.

On Wednesday, UMass management told us they had to know by the end of the day if we would give up the negotiated raise, or else they would move forward with laying off the 32 SHARE members instead of furloughing them. We explained that we were not allowed to do that. SHARE leaders cannot give up the negotiated raise without discussion with, and approval by, SHARE members.

We offered to have a discussion with SHARE members about whether they would be willing to give up or delay their raises, in addition to the other sacrifices that they have made, and will make, to support the School in this crisis. Management has agreed to delay the threatened layoffs by one week while we have this conversation with members.

What happens if I do not have enough work for my budgeted hours? Can I still get Admin Pay?

As part of our 1-week deal, Admin Pay is being extended through Friday, May 8. After May 8, some people who are not furloughed or laid off will still not have enough work for their budgeted hours. Management wants those people to use their vacation time to supplement their pay. If they run out of vacation time, then they could use personal time, and then comp time. If, down the road, they still do not have enough work and they have no more time to use to supplement their paycheck, they could have their hours reduced.

Management wants people to use vacation time first, because it saves them money in this fiscal year and allows them to start next fiscal year in a better financial position. SHARE is concerned that if people have to use vacation time before comp time, they may never get to use the comp time. We are still discussing this.

Do I still get Comp Time for working on-site?

Management’s proposal would stop Comp Time accruals for the Coronavirus, going forward. As part of our 1-week deal, Comp Time accrual is being extended through May 8. We are discussing with management the need to extend the deadline for using up this comp time, in order to make sure departments are sufficiently staffed, and that employees don’t lost their accrued time.

Comp Time does not show up on your paystub, the departments are keeping track of it separately. Check with you manager if you have questions about your Comp Time balance.

Improvements to Unemployment Insurance

On Wednesday, the State House passed legislation strengthening unemployment insurance by getting rid of the one-week waiting period, and allowing people to apply for unemployment for a variety of situations related to the Coronavirus, including self-quarantining and caring for a child whose school has closed.

For more information, read the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Q & A on unemployment during the COVID-19 crisis. Please pass this information along to friends or family members whose employment has been affected by the Coronavirus.

COVID-19 Emergency Childcare

Massachusetts just announced a set of Emergency Childcare sites that will open Monday, March 23rd throughout the state, for frontline workers during the COVID-19 emergency. These programs are free to families and fully funded by the Commonwealth. They are group settings, and so not recommended for families who have other options for their child’s care in non-group settings, such as friends or family.

Priority access will be given (but not limited) to healthcare workers, essential state workers, COVID-19 healthcare workers, grocery store employees, emergency response personnel, law enforcement, transportation and infrastructure workers, sanitation workers, DCF-involved families and families living in shelters. For more details and information please visit: https://eeclead.force.com/apex/EEC_ChildCareEmergencyParents

To view an approved emergency drop-in childcare provider near you and their hours of  operation, please visit the following directory: https://eeclead.force.com/resource/1584817665000/EEC_EmergencyProviderList. Parents will be responsible for reaching out to the programs directly. The program will make decisions, in consultation with the EEC regional office, about who qualifies for care.

Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can assist you finding more information.

SHARE Community Check-In

It has been an astounding week. We hope you are well, and that you are beginning to settle into a new routine.

If you have a question or concern, either immediate or long-term, please get in touch. We have been collecting up issues of concern to SHARE members, and talking to Human Resources every day. We are resolving the things that can be resolved now and taking some topics under advisement to be resolved when the situation has calmed down a bit.

If you have a health or safety concern about being at work, being exposed, being at higher risk, or having a family member at higher risk, etc.:

• The advice we have from HR is that you should talk to your manager (they are trying to manage everything through the standard chain of command) and your manager will likely direct you to Employee Health.

• If you talk to your manager and don’t feel satisfied with the outcome, we would be happy to help you figure out what to do next.

Please tell us how you are coping. We would like to share stories on the SHARE blog about how our community is getting through this weird and scary time.

Coronavirus - Working & Getting Paid

Getting Information

We want to make sure that everyone is getting the information that they need. UMass Medical School is relying on managers to be the point of contact for employees. If that is happening in your department, then the system is working. If not, we would be happy to help get you more information. The goal right now is for everyone to be as safe as possible, to “flatten the curve” of the COVID-19 spread, to maintain the services that are necessary, and for no one to suffer financially.

Working and Getting Paid

You may already have heard this from your manager but, if not, here is what we have been told by Human Resources. All of this applies at least through April 3. There will be more information before April 3 about what happens after that.

There are 3 categories of people. Managers determine which category everyone is in. You have hopefully already been notified by your manager which category applies to you:

1. Essential personnel who have to report to work

2. People who can work from home

3. People who do not have to report to work and cannot work from home

Category 1 people will be paid Comp time for every hour worked on site, as in the Severe Weather policy.

Category 2 people will be paid regularly for working from home

Category 3 people will be paid “administratively” their regular pay rate by the Medical School

People currently out on a Leave of Absence will continue to use their time. People on vacation will use their time (but if, for example, your cruise was cancelled and you are available to work, let your manager know to change your status so you don’t have to use your vacation time.)

Social Distancing and Social Support

At his virtual Town Hall meeting today, Chancellor Collins re-emphasized that the most important thing everyone can do to help slow the spread of COVID-19 is to practice social distancing, and wash your hands. Everyone who gets sick, even people who don’t show symptoms, can pass it on to more vulnerable people. So please, stay safe, and keep others safe.

At the same time that we all avoid physical contact, it is important to stay connected virtually. If there is anything we can do to support you in this very complicated time, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We are mostly working remotely, but can easily be reached by email, and are happy to phone or text.

Coronavirus - Working from Home

You have probably seen that Chancellor Collins and Dean Flotte have announced that “Beginning Monday, March 16 through Friday, April 3, employees who are not required at any UMMS location to perform essential functions are encouraged to work from home.”

Working from home

The SHARE contract specifically says that working from home is an option, if it works for everyone involved. The language is in the Work/Family section, at the bottom of p. 17 of the contract. There seems to be a popular misconception that hourly employees are not allowed to work from home – we have had a lot of questions about this. If your manager has said that you cannot work from home because you are an hourly employee, they don’t have the correct information. Feel free to share the contract language with them.  

If your work cannot be done from home

This afternoon’s message from the Chancellor and the Dean recognizes that some people’s work requires them to be on campus. Your department should be giving you guidance about what they expect.

Closed schools and other questions

We are glad that the Medical School is taking leadership by getting as many people working from home as possible. In addition to making those people safer, it also reduces the risk for those who do have to report to work, because there will be fewer people around to spread the virus.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions, some relating to how to handle the closing of public schools. The message from the Chancellor and Dean said that, “In the coming days, additional guidance will be sent to managers regarding how personnel and paid time off policies will be applied during this period.” We will continue to press for answers and support for SHARE members.

Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or concerns.