Virginia Mason Franciscan Health - 2022 overpayment settlement

Find your contract and learn more about the settlement!

St. Anne: https://ufcw3000.org/find-your-contract/2015/2/11/highline-medical-center-contract

St. Joseph (Pharmacy): https://ufcw3000.org/find-your-contract/2015/2/11/st-joseph-hospital-contract

St. Joseph (Technical): https://ufcw3000.org/find-your-contract/2021/6/7/conifer-st-joseph-medical-center

St. Michael (Nurses): https://ufcw3000.org/find-your-contract/2015/2/11/harrison-medical-center-rn-contract

St. Michael (ProTech): https://ufcw3000.org/find-your-contract/2015/2/11/harrison-medical-center-pro-tech-contract

St. Michael (Service/Dietary): https://ufcw3000.org/find-your-contract/2015/2/11/harrison-medical-center-service-dietary-contract

Virtual Health: https://ufcw3000.org/find-your-contract/2018/12/13/virtual-health-contract
 
In October and November 2022, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (VMFH) experienced a cyberattack and as a result shutdown Kronos (timekeeping software). To ensure that employees were paid on time, VMFH estimated the amount of pay based on employees’ FTE and estimated employee’s premium payments based on the amount of premium payments on the October 7, 2022 paycheck. 

On the November 4, 2022 paycheck, VMFH paid every affected employee the total of regular hours and premium pay earned for both the October 2-15, 2022 pay period and the October 16-29, 2022 pay period. Given this, many employees were overpaid and VMFH sought repayment from employees. 

Although VMFH can recoup the overpayment, they needed to negotiate with our union prior to implementing a repayment plan. Since they didn’t do so our union filed an unfair labor practice with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and grievances for all bargaining units. Additionally, a demand to bargain over the repayment process. 

After months, we were able to settle the matter. Employees who were overpaid less than $2000 will repay the amount in four equal installments and employees who were overpaid more than $2000 will repay the amount in six equal installments. If you do not agree with the amount due, you can submit a written notice within ten business days of receiving the “repayment request” from VMFH. This request was sent on or around September 8 to your work email. 

If you have need help navigating through the process, please feel free to reach out to our union representative or the Member Resource Center (866) 210-3000. 

St. Joseph Medical Center Technical - CONTRACT RATIFIED!

On Tuesday May 2, members in the technical bargaining unit at St. Joseph Medical Center overwhelmingly voted to ratify their new collective bargaining agreement!

Our new contract includes some of the highest pay in the region, a completely revamped wage scale with no ghost steps, a historic $1.00/hr increase to standby pay, and much more. Other than our pay increases, which will go into effect no later than two pay periods after ratification, all provisions of our new contract are now in effect!

After contracts have been voted on and ratified by the membership, the process of review between the union and the employer begins. This is a process is to ensure all new changes are incorporated into the agreement. This can take time, but is necessary for accuracy, we will post the contract on our website as soon as the review process is finished. In the meantime, you can find a redlined version at ufcw3000.org!

St. Joseph Medical Center (Technical) - Tentative Agreement Reached - Vote Schedule

St. Joseph Medical Center (Technical)
Tentative Agreement Reached
Vote Scheduled

Our Union Bargaining Team is excited to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement with the Employer on a new collective bargaining agreement!

The proposed agreement includes:

• A completely revamped wage scale with no ghost steps

• Historic wage increases for all job classifications

• Unprecedented $1.00/hr increase to standby pay

• Improved contract language on many important issues such as low census, preceptor, certification pay, grievances, discipline

• And much more!

More details, including copies of the entire proposed contract, will be available at the ratification vote:

Tuesday, May 2
8AM—10AM | 12PM—2PM | 4PM—6:30PM

St. Joseph Medical Center – Dining Room 3 (Cafeteria)
1717 S J St, Tacoma, WA 98405

Bargaining Team: Vanessa Giles (Surgical Tech), Kat Wood (Radiology Tech), Michelle Gilmore (Respiratory Therapist), Monica DeWitt (Pharmacy Tech), Sissy Allison (Surgical Tech)

St. Joseph Medical Center Technical - Bargaining Continues

“Progress at the bargaining table has moved at unprecedented speed! However, important issues such as call/standby remain unresolved.”

Our Bargaining Team: Vanessa Giles (Surgical Tech), Kat Wood (Radiology Tech), Michelle Gilmore (Respiratory Therapist), Monica DeWitt (Pharmacy Tech), Sissy Allison (Surgical Tech)

Our Union Bargaining Team met with St. Joseph Medical Center management again on February 22, 23 and March 2 to continue negotiations for our successor contract.

Understanding the need for swift action to stay competitive, contract negotiations began earlier than ever before. The employer, in their own proposals, quickly demonstrated that they shared our Bargaining Team’s sense of urgency to make changes to help recruit and retain high quality staff.

That doesn’t mean that we can only focus on wages and overlook the other important issues we face for the sake of speed. The Bargaining Team has been working to address other issues such as low census, the overuse of travelers, posting of FTE’s where needed, our slow grievance process, and much more.

We have made significant progress on the above issues, which is why our Bargaining Team decided to give management our initial economic proposal on February 23. We crafted our proposal after conducting a comprehensive market analysis that included a review of competitors such as MultiCare Tacoma General, Providence St. Peters, UW Valley Medical Center, and Swedish Medical Center.

One of the major factors considered was MultiCare’s move to eliminate all ghost steps (years with 0% increases) during their last round of negotiations. This has made it difficult for St. Joseph Medical Center to recruit and retain staff when healthcare workers know they can move down the street and get paid higher, years earlier than under our current wage structure. Thankfully, the employer agreed with our Bargaining Team’s assessment and has agreed with our proposal to eliminate all ghost steps! However, management’s plan to eliminate ghost steps is different from the Union’s, so more time will be needed to reconcile our differences.

We have also been holding management accountable to the concerning exodus of Anesthesiologist, which are required for many departments to function. Our Bargaining Team has brought the issue up at EVERY bargaining session with management reassuring us that the issue is being handled and that there is nothing to worry about. However, we haven’t seen any substantive changes that indicate that the issue has been resolved, so we will continue to discuss this issue at the bargaining table until we are confident the hospital has a good plan to handle the matter.

Our Bargaining Team will meet with management again on March 17, 24, 28 and 30 with our contract scheduled to expire on April 1. Stay tuned for further updates as bargaining progresses.

St. Joseph Medical Center Technical - Cautiously Optimistic—Bargaining Continues

“As a team, we’re fighting for every bargaining unit member at the table. We’re very encouraged with our progress and look forward to back-to-back bargaining dates with Management this week.”

Our Bargaining Team: Vanessa Giles (Surgical Tech), Kat Wood (Radiology Tech), Michelle Gilmore (Respiratory Therapist), Monica DeWitt (Pharmacy Tech), Sissy Allison (Surgical Tech)

Our Union contract is scheduled to expire soon, giving us the opportunity to engage in contract negotiations with our employer for better wages and working conditions.

Our Bargaining Team began preparations last year and then met with the employer for the first time on January 5, much earlier than in previous years. At that session we provided the Employer with ALL our non-economic proposals. The team wanted to give the employer as much as possible upfront as to avoid any possible delay in our fight for a fair contract.

We then met with the Employer again on February 16 to receive their counter proposal. The team was pleasantly surprised by the Employers response, which included significant movement not usually shown in an initial response. In fact, we already have a tentative agreement on improvements to our low census process and are close to reaching agreements on other important issues.

The Employer’s proposal may be a signal that they are willing to work with the Union towards a mutually agreeable settlement without delay. However, we all must remain prepared to take action if the conditions at the bargaining table sour. While we are cautiously optimistic about our upcoming meetings with management, our Bargaining Team remains prepared to take action if necessary to win the contract that we deserve.

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health - Management ignores cease and desist and demand to bargain over overpayment demands

In October 2022, the Employer overpaid wages to a large portion of members within St. Michael Medical Center, St. Joseph Medical Center, St. Anne Hospital, and Virtual Health bargaining units. They notified UFCW 3000 that they would be seeking recuperation of the excess wages, which they are legally entitled to do. When the Employer began deducting overpayment members realized that the deducted amounts were incorrect.

We sent the Employer a cease and desist letter asking them to stop the deductions and allow us to bargain over the overpayment recovery plan. Management has ignored our request, so we have filed a group grievance on behalf of all bargaining units regarding the overpayment recovery plan. Additionally, we have filed an unfair labor practice against the Employer for ignoring our request.

If you believe you have been deducted an incorrect amount, please email your paystubs and a brief description of how much money you believe is owed to you at: Virginiamasonwagegrievance@ufcw3000.org. We will continue sending out updates to all VMFH bargaining units.

We also encourage you to file a L&I complaint with the State: https://secure.lni.wa.gov/wagecomplaint/#/ and file a PAR with VMFH human resources.

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health - UFCW 3000 sends cease and desist over VMFH overpayment demands

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health
UFCW 3000 sends cease and desist over VMFH overpayment demands

On November 10, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health sent notice to workers across several facilities that they intend to recover wage overpayments associated with the October 21 paycheck, which were as of a result of last month’s Kronos outage.

Healthcare workers have expressed concern over the Employer’s overpayment recovery plan, specifically, questions regarding the accuracy of the Employer’s math and hardships over the limited payment options.

In response, UFCW Local 3000 has sent Virginia Mason Franciscan Health a cease-and-desist letter to allow us time to bargain an agreement that addresses these concerns.

In the meantime, we recommend that members retain any documentation related to the October 2- October 15 payroll period. We will follow-up with additional information as this situation develops.

VFHM St. Joseph Medical Center Pharmacy - Bargaining Begins

Our Bargaining Team, Left to Right Top to Bottom:

Amanda Carter, Heather Surerus-Lopez, Becky Christensen, Beau Chiba, Aimee Cooke

On August 11, your Pharmacy Bargaining Team met with management to begin our contract negotiations. While wages will come at a later bargaining date, we had a productive first day. The team was able to discuss PTO concerns, some economic items, and many of the concerns identified thru your surveys and feedback.

Future bargaining dates include August 24, August 31, September 12, and September 28. There’s still room for new Contract Action Team members. If interested, reach any of the bargaining team members below for more information.

“Good conversations were had today at the table. We presented some of our priorities and I look forward to managements response at our next negotiations.”

— Aimee Cooke

“Our first bargaining session went well, and we achieved agreements on some initial proposals. We’re off to a good start.”

— Heather Surerus-Lopez