Rochester General Hospital (RGH) and the Rochester Union of Nurses & Allied Professionals (RUNAP) met today for our 18th bargaining session since negotiations began in October of last year and the first since the RUNAP strike of August 4-6. The session began around 10 AM and ended after 3 PM. During today’s session, a Federal Mediator was present to assist the parties in their negotiations.
Today, the parties reached four (4) tentative agreements. The agreements included:
- Uniforms and Dress Code
- Committees
- Classification of Employees
- Non-Discrimination
During today’s session, RGH presented two sets of non-economic counterproposals to help move the parties closer to a full agreement. The first set included:
- Committees: RGH presented a revised counterproposal which specifies that unit-based councils will continue to operate and work to address unit-specific issues. RGH’s counterproposal also addresses the Labor-Management Committee and the Retention Committee.
- Non-Discrimination: RGH’s counterproposal specifies that any issues of discrimination would only be subject to the grievance procedure outlined in the collective bargaining agreement and not eligible for arbitration.
- Agreement Scope and Recognition: RGH’s revised counterproposal specifies which RGH employees are members of the Union and subject to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, once ratified.
- Uniforms and Dress Code: RGH presented a revised counterproposal that specifies attire requirements and when members of the Union can wear clothing with the official RUNAP logo.
- Classification of Employees: RGH’s counterproposal specifies that a per-diem employee who works an average of 30 hours per week would have the option to convert to part- or full-time status and transfer to an open benefited position if they meet the necessary qualifications for that role.
RGH also presented a two-party package proposal focused on Management Rights and Union Security:
- RGH’s revised counterproposals accept the Union’s position that, as a condition of employment, RGH employees covered by the collective bargaining agreement would be required to pay dues or a fee that is the same amount as the dues to the Union. In the event an RGH employee covered by the collective bargaining agreement declined to pay the union dues or an equivalent fee, they would be subject to termination from their role. The counterproposals also specify that RGH could continue to utilize employees and agency nurses that are not part of the Union to cover staffing needs.
- Finally, RGH presented a revised management rights proposal with modified language related to the hospital’s ability to manage operations.
Based on responses from RUNAP on several of these items, and discussion between the parties, RGH and RUNAP signed the four Tentative Agreements mentioned above.
What’s Next
RGH and RUNAP are scheduled to meet again for bargaining on August 17. We will issue another update following that session to keep you informed. You can sign up to receive email or text alerts when a new bargaining update is posted to the website and also submit any questions. Please visit www.RGHNursesMatter.org for more information.