Our sixth bargaining session took place on August 8.
While the parties continued to make progress on some language proposals, a significant amount of time was spent considering the union’s third proposal related to time off for the Teamsters’ bargaining committee members to attend negotiations.
We declined the union’s proposal to treat their bargaining committee members differently than our other team members. Our policies require team members to use paid time-off when they choose to be away from work, and we don’t intend to deviate from our policy.
We welcome the committee’s participation. As we explained to the Teamsters, we remain committed to working with their committee members to accommodate their schedules whenever possible, including allowing them the opportunity to switch their schedule when possible consistent with staffing and patient care needs.
We will resume negotiations on September 17. Between now and then the parties committed to working diligently on responding to requests for information and proposals.