SHARE-UMass Memorial Partnership

Improving Care, Strengthening Work, Serving Our Community

At UMass Memorial, SHARE union members and hospital leaders work together through a formal union–management partnership. This partnership is built on shared responsibility, mutual respect, and a strong commitment to patient care.

This way of working goes beyond the old model where unions and management only meet during conflict. Instead, it creates regular and meaningful ways for SHARE members and our direct leaders to solve problems together—right where patient care happens every day.

Voice, Dignity, and Better Work

For us as SHARE members, partnership is about something essential: having a real voice at work.

A key part of this work is our Unit-Based Teams (UBTs). These are small teams made up of SHARE members and managers from the same department. They meet regularly, make decisions together, and focus on problems that matter most to patients and staff.

Through Unit-Based Teams (UBTs) and other joint union–management groups, SHARE members take part in improving how work gets done. Together, we work on things like safety, communication, staffing, and daily workflows. This helps reduce frustration, build trust, and make sure changes are guided by us, the people who actually do the work.

SHARE members often say that partnership helps them feel proud of what they do and shows that their ideas can lead to real results.

Our partnership also supports:

• Respectful labor relations, focused on solving problems instead of creating conflict

• Learning and leadership opportunities for frontline workers

• Fairness and job stability, backed by strong union contracts and collaboration

These goals reflect the core values of Labor–Management Partnership: trust, openness, shared decision-making, and responsibility from both union members and management.

Value to Patients: Better Care, Designed by Caregivers

When caregivers have a voice, patient care gets better.

At UMass Memorial, UBTs have helped improve access to care, reduce delays, and make the patient experience smoother. Caregivers have redesigned everyday processes that affect patients directly. Some teams have cut wait times, improved communication, and made patient flow more efficient—often without spending extra money.

Many projects save departments significant funds. Others create more time in our day so we can focus our skills where they matter most.

Our union is a leader in modern labor–management partnership, shaped around the real needs of our workplace. Across the country, similar partnerships show that when frontline workers are involved, care improves, work processes are more reliable, and patient outcomes are stronger.

By listening to the people closest to patients, the partnership helps create improvements that are practical, caring, and built to last.

Value to the Community: A Strong Hospital and Good Jobs

The partnership between SHARE and UMass Memorial has a strong impact beyond our workplace. UMass Memorial is the largest employer in Central Massachusetts and an essential safety‑net hospital.

Working together strengthens the hospital’s ability to serve the community by:

• Helping keep experienced workers on the job

• Making better use of time, money, and resources

• Supporting good healthcare jobs that help families and strengthen the local economy

Across the country, strong labor–management partnerships have helped lower turnover, train new workers, and steady healthcare systems during times of change and crisis. We are working toward—and seeing—those same results here.

At UMass Memorial, partnership also shows our shared belief in public service: that everyone should have access to high‑quality care.

How the Partnership Works

The SHARE–UMass Memorial partnership is built on a few key foundations:

• Formal agreements that protect our union rights while making room for collaboration

• Joint training in improving work processes, communication, and team leadership

• Clear expectations for how managers and SHARE members lead and work together

Partnership does not replace collective bargaining. It strengthens it by giving us better ways to solve day‑to‑day problems together.

Our model is shaped by successful healthcare partnerships across the country, including long‑standing partnerships such as the one at Kaiser Permanente. Their experience has helped guide us as we build and grow our own partnership at UMass Memorial.