Isoray - How did negotiations go? What does a potential sale of the company mean? What are the impacts of a decertification petition?

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A lot has happened over the past week. We met with the employer on December 7 and 8 to continue our fight for a first contract, which includes higher wages, more affordable healthcare, clear and fair treatment, seniority rights, a voice on the job, and more. On December 8, we were notified of a decertification petition filed in an attempt to eliminate our union, which we have worked hard to form. Then, the following Monday, December 11, we were informed of a potential sale of Isoray to GT Medical, which would be the second sale of Isoray within a year.

Our union bargaining committee is committed to continuing to fight for a contract that betters our lives and sets a minimum on what the employer must provide us. Even if a new company purchases Isoray, we want to make sure we have a voice on the job and in the process while the company changes ownership. Workers deserve to have a say in their future and a say over their working conditions and compensation, and that is exactly what a union helps to do.

On December 7 and 8, our Union Bargaining Committee came prepared to work together to find solutions to the concerns the company previously brought up regarding healthcare eligibility waiting periods in the union healthcare plan. Unfortunately, when we presented our proposal that addressed the waiting periods, Isoray rejected it, claiming that the company was not profitable and didn’t want to take on the additional expense.

We also presented a counterproposal on wages that included 10% increases between steps in certain job classifications, and set wages for years 2 and 3, with the potential for higher increases based on performance.

Now more than ever, it’s important to stand together through this process to ensure we keep our voice at the table.

Join our upcoming Zoom meeting on Monday, December 18, where we will discuss our most recent bargaining proposals, what happens if the company is sold, and the impacts of a decertification petition. Feel free to drop in any time between 5:30-7:30 pm.

Contact your Bargaining Committee or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your Bargaining Committee members or your Union Representative, Juanita Quezada, at 360-409-0557. Thank you for your continued support during this crucial time. Together, we will continue to fight for better wages, quality and affordable healthcare benefits, and improved working conditions.

Bargaining Committee: Ethan Black, Fernando Gonzalez Perez

Isoray - The Waiting Continues on Economic Proposals

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Our Bargaining Team recently met with Isoray Management over three days to continue contract negotiations. While we were able to reach several tentative agreements, Isoray was not prepared to give us their economic proposals. We know many of you are growing frustrated with how long negotiations are taking, and we understand as we gave the company our economic proposals almost five months ago!

The company has a meeting with their Executive Team to go over our proposals on October 19, 2023 and our next bargaining session is scheduled for November 6, 2023.

Join us for our CAT Meeting!
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
UFCW 3000 Office
2505 Duportail St, Richland WA 99352

Join us at the next Contract Action Team (CAT) Meeting where we will be going over the tentative agreements we have made as well as the rest of the proposals we are still waiting on. We will also be going over a workplace action to send a message to Isoray that we are expecting the company’s economic proposal on November 6, 2023!

Highlights of Tentative Agreements from the last few days of negotiations:

  • 10 hours between shifts to assure that workers get the rest they deserve. Premium pay of time and a half for hours worked prior to reaching the 10-hour timeframe.

  • The company proposed 10-minute breaks and we were able to secure the 15-minute rest breaks you currently enjoy.

  • Posted weekly schedules.

  • Bereavement Leave—three paid days with an increased family eligibility.

  • Ability to roll over 80 hours of sick pay instead of the state’s 40-hour max and the ability to use it upon earning it.

  • Seniority after 60 days.

  • Temporary employees have a 90-calendar-day timeframe to become regular employees.

  • Extended contractual leaves for medical or occupational injuries.

Isoray - Progress Made on Some Key Issues, Economic Proposals Pending

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Our Bargaining Team recently had our sixth bargaining session with the company, and we are making progress on several significant issues. However, we are still waiting for the company’s response to our economic proposals, such as wages and healthcare.

We understand that many of you have requested more detailed information about the proposals and their current status. Your voices matter, and we want to ensure that you have all the information you need. Here is a summary of some of the proposals we have made and their current status.

We encourage you to attend the next CAT Meeting where we will provide you with comprehensive information on each proposal made. This will also be a great opportunity for you to stay informed and actively participate in the process.

We have reached tentative agreements on the following proposals:

  • Union Representation

  • Employment Practices

  • Gender Neutrality

  • Severability & Savings Clause

We have made progress on the following proposals, although we haven’t yet reached a tentative agreement:

  • Holidays

  • Vacation

  • Discipline & Discharge

  • Grievance Procedure

  • Seniority

  • Leave of Absence

  • Sick & Safe Leave

We have not received a response from the company on the following proposals:

  • Wages

  • Healthcare

  • Bereavement Leave

  • Hours of Work & Overtime

  • Union Security

  • Retirement

JOIN US AT THE NEXT CAT MEETING!

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

  • 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Richland UFCW 3000 office

2505 Duportail St, Suite D, Richland, WA 99352

“We feel we’re making progress, and we know this is helping strengthen the work culture at Isoray.”

— Our Union Bargaining Team:

Cristal Bauer, Fernando Gonzalez-Perez, Ethan Black

If you have any questions, contact Juanita Quezada at (360) 409-0557 or Kristina Storm at (360) 630-0983.

Isoray - Bargaining Continues

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Over the past few weeks, our Union Bargaining Team met with Isoray management on July 6 and 19. During these sessions, we welcomed a new bargaining committee member, Ethan Black, who will be replacing Tamra. We want to acknowledge Tamra’s excellent representation of her co-workers in the earlier sessions and wish her the best in her future endeavors.

In these last two sessions, we were able to make progress and reach tentative agreements on some important non-economic issues, such as access to the facility by the union rep and gender equality language.

Additionally, we have made progress in the discussions surrounding holidays and the grievance procedure. While there are still details to be worked out, we are making headway in these areas.

Furthermore, we presented our Health & Welfare proposal to the company, which we believe offers a great and affordable healthcare plan. This plan has the potential to result in significant savings for all workers.

Join us at the next Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting on...

  • Tuesday, July 25

  • 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM

  • Richland UFCW 3000 office

  • 2505 Duportail St, Suite D, Richland, WA 99352

...to learn more about how bargaining is going, talk about our proposals, and share your ideas! We will have more information about the healthcare plan we proposed as well!

Upcoming bargaining dates: August 15, September 13.

Our Union Bargaining Committee: Fernando Gonzalez-Perez, Tamra Neish, Cristal Bauer, Ethan Black

Isoray - Bargaining Continues

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Our Bargaining Team: Fernando Gonzalez-Perez, Cristal Bauer, Tamra Neish

We had our third session on Friday, June 9, where our bargaining team presented our wage proposal to management. Our proposal included a three-year wage scale with consistent wage increases and acknowledges  experience and longevity. We believe this proposal is a fair representation of our hard work and dedication as well as stays competitive within our industry.

In addition to our wage proposal, we continued to work on the Leave of Absence language and Grievance Procedure. These items are important to us, and we’re committed to ensuring that they’re appropriately addressed in our contract.

We’re excited to continue bargaining with Isoray throughout the summer, with several bargaining dates on the calendar for July, August, and September.

Join us for the next Contract Action Team (CAT) Meeting!

  • Tuesday, June 13

  • 5:30pm – 6:30pm

  • Richland UFCW 3000 office

  • 2505 Duportail St, Suite D. Richland, WA 99352

Come learn more about how bargaining is going, talk about our proposals, and share your ideas!

Isoray Bargaining Update

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We made progress during first days of negotiations

Our Union Bargaining Committee met with the Employer on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 18 and 19 for the first time to begin the process of negotiating our first contract! Over two days of bargaining our committee made good progress on proposing articles for our contract that would address union membership, access to the facility by the union representatives, a grievance process, paid holidays, paid vacation, sick leave and more. We were also able to come to several tentative agreements with the employer including contract language around just cause for discipline and discharge, new employee orientation, placement of the union bulletin board, job postings, and more.

Next bargaining sessions with the employer are scheduled for May 30 and 31, June 9 and July 6.

“We are happy with the progress we have made over the past few days and remain optimistic that we will continue to find common ground with the employer as we work to win our first contract!” — Fernado Gonzalez-Perez, Tamra Neish, Cristal Bauer

Contract Action Team Meeting!

Join us to learn more about how bargaining is going, talk about our proposals and share your ideas on what our top priorities should be at our first Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting: May 3 from 5:30pm—6:30pm at our Richland UFCW 3000 office - 2505 Duportail St, Suite D. Richland, WA 99352

Perspective Therapeutics - Bargaining Begins

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PERSPECTIVE THERAPEUTICS
BARGAINING BEGINS

Our Union Bargaining Committee met on Thursday, March 16, to prepare for our upcoming contract negotiation with Perspective Therapeutics. During the meeting, our Committee discussed top priorities that were brought up in the bargaining survey including wages, healthcare benefits, discipline and terminations and began working on formal proposals.

Our Committee learned and reviewed the:

  • Union contract bargaining process

  • Bargaining language like union security that helps us build a strong union

  • Just cause language that protects workers from unjust discipline and discharge

  • Union representation that will make sure members have access to their Union Steward and Union Rep,

  • And the grievance process that establishes a formal procedure to challenge contract violations, discipline and terminations.

We have scheduled bargaining dates with the company for Tuesday, April 18 and Wednesday, April 19.

“We won our Union election, and now we’re ready to start the process of negotiating our first contract! We are looking forward to working together with our Union and Perspective Therapeutics.” -Fernando Gonzalez-Perez, Tamra Neish, Cristal Bauer