“We fight for those of us who have remained loyal to Michigan Medicine through a pandemic, understaffing and burnout, only to be penalized with pay caps persisting for decades all why they watch Michigan Medicine acquire more facilities across the state telling us time and time again ‘we don’t have the money.” ~ Kim Bellisario-Petrovic (Clinical Exercise Physiologist & UMMAP Member)
On November 23, we started down the road to arbitration, following our rejection of management’s last offer on Friday the 22nd. Our team has started discussions with management over the selection of the arbitrator and the scope of arbitration. Staff from AFT and AFT Michigan, including attorneys, have been helping us through this process.
Significant Gains
We must acknowledge the important gains we have achieved so far. We secured 21 TAs in the month of November, including 12 in the days leading up to our strike date. Our strike threat worked. Going on strike is always a big gamble, especially for public sector employees in Michigan for whom striking is illegal. It was especially so since the parties remained so far apart on key issues and there were still many unresolved issues in play.
Pivoting to arbitration was a smart move, and the strategy has worked so far. Between November 12th (the strike date) and November 22nd, we secured an additional 9 TAs. These include some big wins that management had spent months refusing to move on. We won Float Pay for the first time, with special provisions for Medical Assistants, who face the worst abuses of floating in our union. We also won protections for campus-based employees who management insisted on converting to the PTO system. In addition, our Rehab and Behavioral Health units won enhancements to professional development and protections from profit-maximizing productivity metrics, especially in our ambulatory care centers. You can review our TA’s here: UMMAP Proposal Tracker.
Although we have not secured TAs on Salary and PTO, we have made significant progress. We were able to reach agreement on grade assignments (salaries at each step) for most of our job classifications. We have agreement on pay differentials for lead roles, shift premiums, preceptor/training (a first!), and float (a first!). On the annual increases and the step increases, we are getting close. A deal does feel within reach.
Deep Frustration & Anger
For those reasons, we’re optimistic, and we’re also frustrated and angry. Michigan Medicine’s stall tactics have dragged this process into the holiday season, holding up our raises and the implementation of a contract with strong workplace protections that we already won. Their delays only hurt us but we will keep fighting.
UMMAP member Kim Bellisario-Petrovic spoke at the December 5th U of M Board of Regents’ meeting. Her statement clearly articulated our frustration and anger. (You can watch her full statement here.)
“Every day, I see our core values posted at work – Integrity, Teamwork, Care, Inclusion, and Respect. I live by these values, but when I see time wasted on negotiations, hear about patients waiting months for appointments, or watch coworkers working two jobs just to support their families, I begin to question whether Michigan Medicine has lost sight of what makes the Michigan Difference.” ~ Kim Bellisario-Petrovic
Member Power
Even as our bargaining enters a new legal phase, member power will remain critical for applying pressure on UM / Michigan Medicine management to reach agreement. The parties reserve the right to settle the contract before arbitration, and we will certainly do everything we can to speed up the process but we will need member power to do that.
You can take action now by:
- Sign our Member Letter to Pres. Ono, and Dr. Runge, Dr. Miller, and the Board of Regents
- Circulate the Ally Letter to non-UMMAP community members