Short Term Disability and Mass. Paid Family Medical Leave: Details and FAQ
SHARE has been asked questions about how Short Term Disability insurance (STD) and the new Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave law (PFML) will affect SHARE members starting in January. Many of these answers have been developing over the past several months, and we’ve worked to understand and collect them together.
Working with the Benefits department in Human Resources, SHARE put together this FAQ. It’s very detailed, because these two programs are both very detailed, and because the answers will be different for different SHARE members.
We hope you find this information useful. If you have read the info in the HR benefits packet and this FAQ and you have more questions, please call the SHARE office at 508-929-4020, or email share.comment@theshareunion.org. We will work to find out the answers with you.
Member Spotlight: Jenn Perchak, Medical Office Assistant, Endocrinology
Jenn Perchak has been one of the pioneers in AFSCME’s Free College benefit program, which is open to all SHARE members. SHARE has heard several really great reports about this benefit, and we’re very happy to know that it’s making a difference. As you can see, Jenn is mighty busy, but that hasn’t kept her from impressive success earning a spot on the Dean’s List and then her first college degree. Here she is in her own words . . .
I swore I would never work in the medical field. My mom is a registered respiratory therapist and LPN, so I grew up around hospitals, and swore I would never work in one. When I had my oldest child nineteen years ago, I was looking for a job to do. My friend said to take a one hundred hour course to become a CNA and if you passed it then you would be paid for the one hundred hours in minimum wage. However, I was getting sick of working weekends and holidays. So I decided to become a medical assistant, and now work in the Endocrinology Department at UMass.
My favorite part of this job is interacting with the patients. I have a patient who found out that I raise cows with my mom and now he calls me “beef” and it's pretty funny. My mom had learned about the bad quality of the meat sold in stores, and so she asked her husband if she can buy a cow. That was a gateway to now having sixty-five cows. I help my mom out with sixty-five grass-fed non-GMO certified cows, and have a store in New Braintree with her.
Outside of working on the farm on the weekends, I work forty hours at UMass, I have four kids, and I also decided to go to school full time online through the union. I just finished my associate degree and graduated with a 3.9 GPA in June. Now, I am working on my bachelors and just got accepted into Central State of Ohio with the Union bachelor’s program. Going to school has been fun! The classes were not as tough as I thought they would be. It has been super interesting to learn so much.
It is really easy to sign up for college through the union. You just go to the SHARE website and click the link. I found out about this through a coworker who was starting Nursing school through this same program. She just told me that I should do this and so I am doing it!
My favorite part about school is that I can apply what I am learning to the farm that my mom and I run together. I am studying Business Management so when I had to write a business plan for school I wrote one for the farm. When I had to work on social media marketing for school, I applied it to the farm.
If you are dedicated to school and work you can do both! Just take advantage of this opportunity as much as you can. I was just looking at my associate in Business Management and the price of it without FAFSA and the union is $59,000. After FAFSA, the Union paid for the rest. People say that unions just protect the bad employees but I have been with UMass for eleven years and my dues have not equaled 59,000 dollars. We deserve this and more.
Click here to connect with more SHARE’D Stories
In the past, I was anti-union until I worked at UMass. Now that I have been in the union, I would not trade it for the world. I have always worked with [staff organizer] Bobbi-Jo from the beginning. It is so nice to have her around and she has been so supportive of me through school. I have known Bobbi-Jo for eight years now and I don't even know if she is technically my union representative now but I told her that you are stuck with me! I can call her any time and I know that she will be there for me.
Upcoming LatinX Virtual Listening Session with UMass Memorial CEO Dr. Eric Dickson
SHARE supports UMass Memorial’s efforts to be a more inclusive community. We encourage Hispanic and LatinX members to take note of the following opportunity to engage directly with hospital leadership . . .
LatinX Caregivers: Thursday, November 19, at 4:30 pm – Because we do not currently have a large LatinX Employee Resource Group, we open this session to all caregivers who may identify as, with, or support these groups.
If you are interested in attending, please send an RSVP note to Eric.Dickson.System.CEO@umassmemorial.org or reply to this email that you would like to attend. Once we have your RSVP, we will send you the Webex link.
More about the Listening Sessions
6-7 of these sessions have taken place already. Our goal in convening these sessions is to listen and respectfully acknowledge our colleagues who share their experiences with racism in the community and at work.
We acknowledge that there has not always been room for these conversations
For this reason, we are here today to listen and to learn from one another so that we can move forward together
We encourage a continued dialogue and invite your continued feedback so that we can improve
There is important equity work that we need to do going forward, and we will act but that action must be informed by the feedback employees, patients, and the community share with us.
We are meeting with and listening to different employee groups as a part of our planning for action
We will then share a plan of action with the goal of making our system one in which all employees and patients feel a true sense of belonging through inclusion
Potential Questions for Discussion
Please share ways in which we can make our health care system more equitable.
You may wish to share a story of an interpersonal challenge you have witnessed or experienced in our healthcare system.
You might also share an example of an equity related systems issue you have observed or faced in our healthcare system.
If you would like to share a question or comment in advance of the session, please email valerie@promotinggoodllc.com.
SHARE Blog Digest: Bonuses, Scholarships, Member Spotlights, and More . . .
APPRECIATION BONUSES
As you probably know, UMass Memorial is giving an Appreciation Bonus for all the hard work done by caregivers during the COVID surge. Many SHARE members were surprised and pleased when they heard about the bonus. It’s the right thing to do, and not a small amount of money when you add it up for all the employees. COVID continues to be incredibly hard for everyone, and the hospital is trying to recognize what people are going through, and show their appreciation. Read more.
EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS & ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIPS
SHARE members and their families members qualify for a number of college scholarships and educational benefits, including free online degree programs. Some recently-announced scholarships for graduating high-school seniors have approaching deadlines. SHARE families have won these scholarships now for the past several years in a row . . . we’d love to see more students benefit from these opportunities!
REFERRAL BONUSES
Do you know someone who might be interested to work at UMass Memorial? The hospital is currently offering $500 Referral Bonuses to SHARE members and other hospital staff for their help in recruiting new employees to PCA jobs (both Inpatient PCA 1 and 2, and PCA2s in Ambulatory) and Medical Office Assistant (MOA) positions. Make sure your friend names you when they apply in order to qualify for the referral bonus.
SHARE’d STORIES
SHARE continues to spotlight members in a series of personal profiles we call “SHARE’d Stories.” Check out the latest profiles of Oncology Clinic PCA Dareth Watts and Denials Resolutions Specialist Lorie Rosen. And let’s hear your story, too!
ABOUT the FLU VACCINE MANDATE
SHARE leaders have been meeting consistently with Human Resources to discuss the impacts of the hospital’s flu vaccine mandate. The hospital continues to say that it will impose progressive discipline with staff who do not comply. They have agreed to a Problem-Solving approach to individual case management for SHARE members. More information about the hospital’s position on exemptions, vaccines for work-from-home employees, and more, can be found here.
UMASS MEMORIAL SURGE PREP in the NEWS
Dr. Ellison, UMass Memorial epidemiologist, joined other experts on the next wave of COVID in this series of boston.com interviews. Dr. Ellison describes that our hospital has amassed a several-month supply of PPE, and that it intends to keep ahead of the needs with the stockpile. Although much more is now known about caring for patients with the disease than during the previous surge, he stresses to readers the importance of taking precautions to avoid overloading hospital ICUs.
SHARE Member Spotlight: Lorie Rosen, Denials Resolution Specialist
I have been working in insurance for 30 plus years. I am currently a Denial Resolution Specialist at UMass. I get lists every week of claims that have been denied by the insurance companies. We have to understand why it was denied. I try to get authorization for it or write an appeal or adjudicate for payment. What happens is someone comes to the hospital and they create a claim for the insurance company. Sometimes there is a problem and sometimes we need to get authorization. We need to do extensive research to understand what has gone wrong and how to change it.
I love the problem solving that my job requires. Developing relationships with different people from insurance companies has been really helpful in being able to get these claims through. We call the insurance companies and speak with them and hopefully get the claim reprocessed. We develop relationships with people from these companies and you get to know them well. I have developed these relationships and when there is a further problem we are able to go through it together. They are going to try harder to solve the issues and if there is a mistake on their end then they try to fix it as soon as possible and speed up the process instead of it coming back.
Click here to connect with more SHARE’d Stories
Sometimes, we get to speak with the patients and ask them to call the insurance company to just confirm who the primary insurer is. When I get to talk to patients who might be older and not understand how their insurance works, it is reassuring and warming to let them know to call the insurance company and then I can work with the insurance company to really resolve their insurance issues. This impacts not only their current payment, but also future claims. That is what is really rewarding.
For example, we have talked to people who have been in a car accident. In these cases, we need the patient to call Medicare to update their status stating that either the claim is not due to the injuries from auth or Worker’s comp or that the auto coverage payment has been maxed out. You need to be able to talk to people effectively so that they will want to assist and make it into a positive.
Work for us has remained similar post-COVID. One of the things that has changed is that we can't scan in documents, but we can use our phones and use the equipment from our office. We are able to use the UMass phone system from our homes ensuring that the calls are secure. I am happy there is not a lot of background noise at home so I can focus more. It is quieter when I am making calls as well because the phone lines are not always great. Also, I don't have a commute anymore and that has been so helpful. I can add a few more hours to my day problem solving and working a job that I truly enjoy!
UMass Memorial Appreciation Bonus
As you probably know, UMass Memorial is giving an Appreciation Bonus for all the hard work done by caregivers during the COVID surge. Many SHARE members were surprised and pleased when they heard about the bonus. It’s the right thing to do, and not a small amount of money when you add it up for all the employees. COVID continues to be incredibly hard for everyone, and the hospital is trying to recognize what people are going through, and show their appreciation.
In the memo about the bonus, Dr. Dickson explained, “We recognize that this bonus does not compensate you for all that you did during the peak of the crisis – especially for those who directly cared for COVID-19-positive patients.”
This bonus is not considered hazard pay, which SHARE members deserve. (SHARE continues to follow bills containing hazard pay in both Congress and the State House – there’s still hope.)
The amount of the Appreciation Bonus is $500 for full-time employees (people with 32-40 budgeted hours on the books), and $250 for people with up to 31 hours/week on the books. Remember, that’s the amount before taxes. Bonuses get taxed extra – just as they do when SHARE members get a retro check after negotiations if an agreement isn’t reached before the end of a contract.
Flu update: SHARE Describes Discussions with Human Resources
SHARE has met with Human Resources several times to discuss the new mandatory flu vaccine. (See Flu Vaccine: SHARE Questions and Answers, Part 1, about SHARE’s meeting with the Infectious Disease doctors for their answers to those questions.) SHARE’s main issues for HR are:
1. Flu vaccine for SHARE members working from home
HR says that any SHARE member who comes into a UMass Memorial workplace for even one day during flu season needs to get a flu vaccine. Since work-from-home agreements say that employees must be able to come to work on two-hours notice, management’s position is that SHARE members who work from home must get the flu vaccine.
Departments such as billing are offering flu vaccines at work, on work time, for SHARE members who want them. You can also get a vaccine at your doctor’s office or a CVS and send the documentation to Employee Health.
We don’t know how actively HR and managers of SHARE members who work from home are going to pursue following up with every work-from-home SHARE member to make sure they get the flu vaccine.
2. Exemptions from the flu vaccine: Religious or Medical
The hospital’s FAQ about the new flu vaccine policy has a lot of information about exemptions from the mandatory flu vaccine for medical or religious reasons. The form to request a medical exemption should be turned into Employee Health. The form to request a religious exemption should be turned into your HR Business Partner, who then forwards it to the Office of the General Counsel for review. HR says that in both cases, the forms will be reviewed and the employee will be informed afterwards whether they are granted an exemption or not.
3. What happens if a SHARE member refuses to get the flu vaccine?
Progressive Discipline: If a SHARE member does not have an approved exemption, and they do not get the flu vaccine, HR says that they will be disciplined. HR and SHARE have agreed that any discipline about a SHARE member who does not get the flu shot will follow the disciplinary steps in the SHARE-UMass Memorial contract: Documented Counseling, Verbal Warning, Written Warning, Final Written Warning, and Termination. SHARE and HR are still discussing whether the hospital would actually terminate someone for not getting the flu shot. At the moment, they are not ruling out that an employee could be fired for not getting the flu vaccine.
Each step of the disciplinary process involves a meeting with the SHARE member and HR, possibly the member’s manager, and a SHARE Rep if the member wants one. SHARE and HR have agreed that we will take a case management problem-solving approach: Listening to the member, trying to understand the problem and find a solution.
4. Can a union stop management from disciplining members who don’t get the flu vaccine?
The MNA at the Brigham lost a court case saying said that management didn’t have the right to force employees to get a flu vaccine, and the Brigham has since terminated employees who didn’t get the vaccine. Since then, the Governor has mandated flu vaccines for public school students, and teachers and employees in long-term care, which makes this an even more difficult issue.
SHARE does not want to see anyone lose their job over the flu vaccine. Neither does the hospital. We are all hoping that we can find a solution in each case. However, to date, UMass Memorial continues to maintain their right to terminate.
SHARE Member Spotlight: Dareth Watts, Patient Care Associate
Dareth Watts
PCA II, Oncology Clinic, 10/9/20
I have been working as a PCA with cancer patients for twelve years. People think that working in the cancer department would be sad, but the patients are amazing. They have the best attitudes and they will fight this.
Yesterday, we had two patients finish their treatment, and it's a big deal around here! We give them a piece of paper that says congratulations and everyone signs it. When they walk out the door they get to ring a bell! It is just such a good feeling to get them through the treatment. It takes people about a month or more to get through the treatment and they don’t have to come back in until maybe six months later.
We have not had a lot of patients finish recently. Because of COVID, many patients have pushed back their treatment. We can't hug and just there's nothing better than wrapping your arms around a patient to say congratulations. But, we tap elbows now and that has still been nice. I'm a big hugger and patients come in that are crying and upset and I can't give them a hug! It's really hard and tough.
I enjoy so many things about my job. I love the patient interaction and being able to have different conversations with patients to check in on how they are feeling. and see how they are feeling. Just getting to talk to them and hearing them tell me that they don’t need to take certain meds anymore makes me feel so happy. It is such a good feeling for them and being a part of that feels like such a good thing.
Click to connect with more SHARE’d Stories!
My second family is here at work. This is where I am needed, so I need to be here. I have relationships with the cafeteria, housekeeping, the nurses, the lab and basically every department that impacts the patients’ care. I moved here from Worcester to Marlborough and these relationships were built over time. A patient needed knives, so I grabbed a handful from the cafeteria because we needed them in the drawer. We have patients who come in and need a lab immediately and because of my relationship with the lab I can help get that done for the patient. It is nice that I can ask for what is needed and sometimes they can do what is needed and sometimes they can’t. But if I never introduced myself and talked to them, I would not be able to just go down there and ask for the things that are needed.
If I were to give advice, it would be to be patient with patients and your coworkers. Not being patient and having a temper is not going to help you get very far in the medical field. Everyone has bad days — most days might be fine but there might be a day where your coworker just is having a bad day and is taking it out on you. Just let them do that and go on with your day. You have to keep relationships with people because in this field relationships help us to care for the patients in the best way possible.
Scholarship Opportunities & Free College Benefit
SCHOLARSHIPS
Got a High School senior at home? Here are four great opportunities for scholarship money that are open to children of SHARE members and, in some cases, grandchildren. Check each one for different criteria, deadlines, and award amounts.
AFSCME Family Scholarship: The deadline to apply is Dec 31. AFSCME is our parent union - if you pay dues to SHARE then you are a member of AFSCME.
Union Plus Scholarships: Applications are due January 31.
Massachusetts AFL-CIO Scholarships: Applicants will be required to take a Labor History exam (there is a study guide). Registration for this year’s exam will close December 18, 2020.
The Central Mass AFL-CIO has a separate scholarship. It is usually opened in February, due around late April, and you are notified in August if you get it. We will post the notice on the blog when applications are open. Click here to read last year’s notice on our blog.
Please note that the full name for our union at UMass Memorial Hospital is AFSCME/SHARE Local 3900.
FREE COLLEGE BENEFIT
Our parent union AFSCME offers a Free College Benefit, making it possible for all SHARE members, their families, and other members of their households to earn a free associates degree online from Eastern Gateway Community College.
Students who have already earned their Associates Degree can apply for a free online Bachelor’s Degree completion programs in Teacher Education, Business Administration, or Criminal Justice through Central State University. Additional programs are under consideration.
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To find additional educational opportunities in the future, note that you can always filter the SHARE Blog using search tools, including the category tags such as #Education and #Scholarships.
SHARE Blog Digest: Face Shield Distribution THIS FRIDAY, EAP, Flu Vaccines, and More
Face Shields for SHARE Members
SHARE is very happy to have received 500 face shields from local makers in the Worcester Face Shield Project. Organizers will be at the office this Friday, October 23rd, to distribute shields to members who arrange in advance. For more details — including how to arrange your own face shield pick-up — click here.
COVID Outbreaks among Staff at Two Massachusetts Hospitals: Why?
The spread of COVID continues to develop, as does the understanding of that spread. Thankfully, death rates are on the decline across demographics, suggesting that clinicians and caregivers continue to dial-in the effectiveness of the treatments they provide. At the same time, hospitals including Baystate Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have seen recent outbreaks of COVID among staff. As the hospital epidemiologists investigate what happened, they point to staff removing their masks to eat in crowded break rooms, and lack of eye protection, among other factors.
Flu Vaccine: SHARE Questions and Answers, Part 1
SHARE leaders met recently with Drs. Kimi Kobayashi (Chief Quality Officer) and Richard Ellison (Hospital Epidemiologist) to ask them some of the questions that SHARE members have been asking us about the flu vaccine and the new mandatory vaccination policy. Read more here . . .
Stop the Spread: Free COVID Testing, and Volunteers Needed!
UMass Memorial is staffing free COVID testing at locations in the community. SHARE has offered to help get the word out that they need volunteers to help run the events: providers to swab and people to register. Training is provided, and so is PPE, water and snacks. People who have volunteered say that they personally found it very rewarding work. Get a free COVID test while you are there!
UMass Memorial Changes Employee Assistance Provider
UMass Memorial has decided to change who provides Employees Assistance to employees. In the past, the Medical School EAP also served hospital employees. Now, the hospital will be contracting with an outside company to provide the service. We encourage you to learn more and provide feedback to SHARE in this anonymous survey. Thank you!
Flu Vaccine: SHARE Questions and Answers, Part 1
SHARE leaders met recently with Drs. Kimi Kobayashi (Chief Quality Officer) and Richard Ellison (Hospital Epidemiologist) to ask them some of the questions that SHARE members have been asking us about the flu vaccine and the new mandatory vaccination policy.
Why isn’t Wearing a Mask Enough?
Employees who declined the flu vaccine in the past had to wear a mask throughout flu season. Why isn’t that enough now?
Like COVID, people can be contagious with the flu before they have symptoms. Wearing a mask decreases the chances that a caregiver will give a patient or co-worker the virus, but it does not fully prevent that possibility. There is no “silver bullet” for preventing the transmission of the flu. The more preventive measures that are layered on top of each other, the better: wearing a mask, proper hand hygiene, staying home if you feel sick, and getting the flu vaccine. Any one of those measures helps, but employing all four is most effective, just as wearing a seatbelt, having airbags and driving the speed limit each decrease risk, but doing all three measures is safest.
The flu vaccine reduces the risk of transmission if you take off your mask at work, like to eat in the break room. It also protects you from getting or sharing the flu outside of work.
The flu vaccine helps your immune system fight any flu virus – even if you get infected by a flu virus not included in this year’s flu vaccine. Your body will be better able to fight it, so if you do catch it, it will make you less sick, and less at risk of getting so ill that you need to be hospitalized.
The combination of COVID and influenza this year could make everything worse in healthcare. The hospital may need every caregiver to be healthy this winter, so they can be at work taking care of patients.
We asked about Ingredients in the flu vaccine that UMass Memorial is using:
Are there preservatives in the vaccine?
No. There are no preservatives in these vaccines. They are all single doses, so preservative is unnecessary.
Are there metals/adjuvants in the vaccine?
No. There are no adjuvants or metals in these vaccines.
Is there an option for those who are allergic to eggs, or vegan?
Yes. Standard Flu vaccine is grown in chicken eggs. Employee Health has a limited supply of Flu Blok for those who need it, which is not grown in eggs. Reach out to them for details.
What if I’m older?
A high dose vaccine is available for older caregivers over the age of 65, but it’s optional.
How effective is this year’s influenza vaccine?
We won’t know until we’re two thirds of the way through the flu season. Each year the flu vaccine is created with the experts’ best guess of the flu viruses that will be around this year, based on which ones are around during the summer in the southern hemisphere.
Is UMass Memorial the only hospital in Massachusetts mandating that caregivers get the flu vaccine?
SHARE leaders asked which hospitals in Massachusetts have made the decision to require flu vaccine among their employees.
In addition to Partners, management listed Children’s Hospital, Lahey and Tufts. We have also heard that Reliant and St. V’s are moving that direction, too. In 2018, MNA nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston challenged their hospital's flu vaccine mandate; a superior court judge denied the nurses' request. Management says UMass Memorial is one of the last systems in the state to require the vaccine.
In addition, Governor Baker has mandated flu vaccines for public school students, and for workers in long-term care facilities.
What about medical exemptions?
A very small number of people react strongly to the flu vaccine. Employees seeking a medical exception should submit a letter from their doctor to Employee Health describing their prior reaction to a flu vaccine. There is also an exemption form to make this process easier that can be obtained from Employee Health.
How would we handle a new COVID vaccine in the future?
Some SHARE members who are reassured by the decades of research showing the flu vaccine to be safe and effective nevertheless worry that this new policy will mean that a new COVID vaccine will be made mandatory down the road. Everyone is concerned that any new COVID vaccine be fully tested and safe. SHARE leaders told UMass Memorial that it’s important to SHARE members that we agree to a thorough discussion, joint research, transparency and negotiation about making any new COVID vaccine mandatory in the future. (Stay tuned.)
UMass Memorial leaders made it clear that they would have to know a lot more about any possible new COVID vaccine before having any opinion about this. They worry about the opposite problem: When there is an effective vaccine, there won’t be enough doses for everyone who wants to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and that we’ll face hard decisions about who should get it first.
What about all my other questions, such as whether this applies to those who are working from home?
SHARE is still working with HR around a number of these issues – stay tuned, and if you have a question or concern, please reach out and let us know!
Stop the Spread: Free Community COVID Testing Available, and Volunteers Needed!
UMass Memorial is staffing free COVID testing at locations in the community. SHARE has offered to help spread the word that they need volunteers to help run the events: providers to swab and people to register. Training is provided, and so is PPE, water and snacks. People who have volunteered say that they personally found it very rewarding work. Get a free COVID test while you are there!
For more information about when and where the COVID testing is offered, click here.
Anyone with a clinical background (PCAs, LPNs, Respiratory Therapists, Rad Techs, etc) are encouraged to sign up in a provider slot. These are 2-hour shifts, plus arriving 15 minutes early to get trained. For the provider sign-up schedule, click here.
Everyone is welcome to volunteer as a registrar! The shifts are 4-hours each, plus a 1 hour training beforehand for the first time you do it, and they ask you to arrive 30 minutes early for shifts after that. For the registration sign-up schedule, click here.
Face Shields Available for SHARE Members
Donated by Worcester Face Shield Project
Donations made it possible for these high quality face shields to be donated free to first responders and healthcare workers in Worcester, including SHARE members. On Friday, October 23rd, organizers will distribute the 500 shields SHARE received at the SHARE office. If you or your department needs face shields please send us an email to make arrangements to pick them up that day, or to make other arrangements.
Learn more about the local artisans at The Worcester Face Shield Project who found a way to help during the COVID crisis:
UMass Memorial Changes Employee Assistance Provider
UMass Memorial has decided to change who provides Employees Assistance to employees. In the past, the Medical School EAP also served hospital employees. Now, the hospital will be contracting with an outside company to provide the service.
The hospital did not ask for SHARE’s input before this change. SHARE organizers have worked closely with the counselors at the Medical School EAP to make sure that SHARE members who were having a tough time got the help that they needed, and we trust them.
The EASE fund will continue to be available for SHARE members to apply for financial help, though it will no longer be administered by the Medical School EAP.
What Do You Think about the Change?
Did you ever use the services at EAP? If so, we’d love to know what you thought of the help you got. All answers are anonymous.
[Really Quick SHARE Survey about EAP]
We would also be very interested to hear about your experiences with the new EAP service. We recognize and respect that staff sometimes work through very personal and private issues with EAP counselors, and, at the same time, want to be sure that SHARE members are well-supported. If you’re willing to share, we would appreciate your help understanding how the new system is working.
The New EAP
Optum is the new company – they are a national company, serving employers all over. We are told they have local counselors available. You can scroll down to the hospital’s announcement for a summary of their services, and find all of the services they offer on their website. Here’s their contact information:
Online: www.LiveandWorkWell.com, Company Code: umassmemorial
Mobile device: Visit the above website for instructions on downloading the app.
By telephone: 866-263-3525
UMass Memorial’s Announcement
In case you missed it, here’s the memo from the hospital to staff announcing the new Employee Assistance Program:
TO: All Caregivers at UMass Memorial Health Care
FROM: Eric Dickson, MD, President and CEO, UMass Memorial Health Care
DATE: September 16, 2020
SUBJECT: Introducing Our New Employee Assistance Program, Powered by Optum
Now more than ever, it is a top priority at UMass Memorial Health Care to have resources in place to care for our caregivers. From the residual stress of the COVID-19 crisis, to heavy workloads caused by our recovery efforts, from dramatic changes to our home lives caused by the pandemic, to general uncertainty about what the future might hold, we all are dealing with a most unusually challenging time. Fortunately, we have the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in place to offer a wide variety of services to support all of our caregivers in their times of need.
Starting October 1, we will be partnering with a new EAP provider that will be delivered by Optum and will take the place of our existing EAP providers for all UMass Memorial entities, bringing all EAP services under one partner for consistency across the system. Remember that EAP services are provided free to all UMass Memorial caregivers and their family members, with complete confidentiality, just as you’ve experienced with our other EAP services.
Through the EAP, employees can easily connect with benefits, which include:
One-on-One Counseling. You’ll have access to up to five face-to-face sessions per incident per year with a counselor within the Optum network of over 215,000 providers nationwide — in person, over the phone or via virtual visits. Optum also provides free access to Talkspace, which allows you to video chat with one of over 5,000 providers. With Talkspace, you can access therapy within hours of choosing your provider and receive support via messages 24/7.Support in Times of Need. Contact the Optum EAP for assistance in finding legal and financial support or resources and information to help you care for a child or adult dependent. They can also help with parenting advice or assist with getting you a discount on your night on the town to unwind.Helpful Resources at Your Fingertips. Unlimited access to online information, articles and other tools through the Optum Live and Work Well website or app.
Below are more details about how you and your family members can access all the great resources from the EAP. I hope you will take advantage of all that Optum EAP has to offer, especially if you find yourself navigating a personal or health crisis. We all need help sometimes. Together, we can take care of ourselves so we can better care for the people who depend on us.
Access the EAP Today
Online: www.LiveandWorkWell.com, Company Code: umassmemorial
Mobile device: Visit the above website for instructions on downloading the app.
By telephone: 866-263-3525
TDD: 866-216-9926
Questions? For questions or more information about the EAP, email myhealthmatters@umassmemorial.org.
SHARE Blog Digest: 2020 Raises, Participating in SHARE, and More
2020 Raise
SHARE members are now receiving the third (of four) raises in our current contract. Year 3 (effective 9/27/20) equals 1% Across-the-Board raise (“ATB”), PLUS platform movement of 1.93%, OR a $0.60/hour minimum raise, whichever is greater. Read this post for more detail about the raise, which includes tools to help you calculate your own.
Get Active with SHARE
Although SHARE Elections have been postponed until Spring of 2021 due to COVID, SHARE encourages you to get involved . . . to help our union keep moving forward and making a difference. Read more in this update about our union’s elected leaders and other SHARE roles.
Kona Enders, SHARE’s First Frontline Leader Fellow
This month we welcomed our first SHARE Frontline Leader Fellow, Kona Enders. This is a new program designed to provide SHARE leaders with an opportunity to learn more about SHARE’s approach to organizing people and solving problems. Kona has worked as a PCA on 3 West at the University campus for seventeen years, where she has long been recognized as a strong advocate for her patients and coworkers. Learn more about Kona and the Fellowship.
ICYMI: UMass Memorial Surge Preparations in the News
In case you missed it, the Telegram & Gazette recently reported on the ways that UMass Memorial is preparing for a potential combined-surge of Flu and COVID patients in the coming weeks, especially its efforts to stockpile PPE.
Register to Vote!
There’s still time to register to vote in the November 3rd election. If you live in Massachusetts, you can register on-line (if you have a MA driver’s license) or by mail. The deadline is October 24th.
Get Active in Your SHARE Union
Our union is strongest and most effective when members are connected and participating. If you are not already active with SHARE, we invite you to consider getting more involved. Please email or call SHARE if you would like to:
Volunteer to be more active in SHARE
Recommend a co-worker
Get more information about what it would mean to be active in SHARE
Ask questions or express concerns about this process
Elected Leadership Positions
We usually have nominations for SHARE Reps and Executive Board Members every year in the spring. SHARE union leaders are nominated and elected by SHARE members. They work closely with the SHARE organizing staff and do many different things to keep our union strong.
In short, SHARE’s Executive Board (or "EBoard"), including the four officers, makes decisions about the direction of our union, and participates in contract negotiations. They are elected for two-year terms. They have responsibility for the whole union, and each board member is responsible for a few hundred members in their area.
SHARE Representatives (or "Reps") serve as the contact person for their area. They are elected for one-year terms. There is roughly one Rep for every fifty SHARE members. Some Reps are trained to help co-workers solve problems in the workplace.
In addition to the currently-elected Reps, several former Reps and unofficial Reps help members in their area keep up-to-date about current SHARE news, and help their co-workers find helpful SHARE resources.
If there are more candidates than positions, then we hold an election.
2020 Elections Postponed
This year, because of the COVID pandemic, that did not happen on time. We have two choices. The one we think makes the most sense is to wait until next spring and go through our normal nomination process then. With this option, we would make sure that there is an opportunity for SHARE members to get involved new even without a formal nomination. We would invite any SHARE member who would like to be active in SHARE, or be more active than they are now, to let us know, and we would work with them to get the training they need. We would ask also people who are currently SHARE Reps and Executive Board Members to remain in their positions until May 2021, if they are willing.
The other option would be to open nominations now, in the fall, and then again in the spring. With this option, then we would hold our regular nomination and election process now. Reps who were elected would have a 6 month term, and then be up for election again in the spring. Executive Board Members would be elected for partial terms as well. The election would be held by mail.
Either way, we would like to have members from every area active in SHARE.
Again, please email or call SHARE to volunteer yourself or recommend a coworker to be more active in SHARE, to get more information about being active in SHARE, or if you have questions or concerns about this process.
How Do I Find My Raise?
SHARE members are now receiving the third (of four) raises in our current contract. Year 3 (effective 9/27/20) equals 1% Across-the-Board raise (“ATB”), PLUS platform movement of 1.93%, OR a $0.60/hour minimum raise, whichever is greater. Read on for more detail about the raise, which includes tools to help you calculate your own.
WHAT ARE PAY GRIDS?
Our employer uses a common form of pay structure to arrange the hourly pay rates for SHARE members. The pay grid sets a minimum and maximum hourly rate, otherwise known as a “min” and a “max,” for employees in all SHARE job classifications.
Over the years, SHARE and UMass Memorial have worked to make the pay grids transparent and predictable. The pay grid is designed as a series of “platforms.” These platforms are intended to recognize a person’s work experience in the field, and to help her make financial progress as she grows in her job. In our contract agreements, we have agreed to ensure that each SHARE member makes no less than what’s deemed appropriate for her years of experience.
WHAT ARE THE TWO PARTS OF THE RAISE?
The SHARE raise includes two components:
the “Across-the-Board” (or ATB), and
the “Platform Movement”
The ATB is provided to all SHARE members; it’s the part of the raise that’s designed to keep employees from losing ground against inflation and the market. The Platform Movement is designed to recognize service to our hospital, and to allow SHARE members to make consistent financial progress.
If you’re working to understand your raise by looking at the pay grid, you can see the ATB raise by moving across a platform from your current pay. To see the additional Platform movement, you would then move down a platform. (See “How to Calculate My Raise,” above.)
Click the button at the top of the page — or this image — to view, download, or print the full worksheet to calculate your raise.
The button below links to the pay rate grids for all SHARE positions
WHAT IS THE “FLOOR” DESCRIBED IN THE RAISE?
Most SHARE members would be happy with a one percent raise . . . if their base pay was a million dollars per year. When raises are set as a percentage of base pay, it disadvantages the person who makes a lower hourly rate. To offset this, we’ve made an agreement that the smallest raise that a SHARE member can get is 60 cents per hour. For some SHARE members, 60 cents equated to a 4.5% raise.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY RAISE IS 2.95% OR IF IT’S THE $.60/HOUR FLAT RATE?
It’s whichever number is bigger for you, based on your current pay rate.
WHAT IS “MAX?”
If you’ve worked in a SHARE job for very many years, you may know that the SHARE union and our employer have had different beliefs about members’ “maximum” pay amount. In our 2016 Contract, we negotiated a new kind of compromise about the Max, one that has been more satisfying among seasoned SHARE members. We’ll describe more about that in the following answers. Now, the Max applies only to new-hires to SHARE; it’s the highest amount a new member can be paid, regardless of their prior experience.
WHAT IS THE “MAX CAP?”
In our 2016 Contract, we reached an agreement with management that changed how Max would be handled. We both agreed that SHARE members could have the full raise applied to their base, even if they were beyond the Max. We made a new compromise, which set a new, higher limit on the amount that a member could make in her hourly rate. This new limit is called the “Max Cap.”
As SHARE’s agreement with the hospital describes: “The max cap is a hard stop.” It’s the highest amount that an employee can make in her base rate. Of course, from SHARE’s perspective, the amount of the Max Cap will need to increase. We will negotiate future increases to the Max Cap with the hospital.
WHAT IS THE “LONGEVITY ZONE?”
Although this term is not in our contract, it is how we in SHARE refer to the difference between the Max and the Max Cap. There are no pay platforms between Max and the Max Cap. No employees are hired or slotted above the Max. However, SHARE members whose raises fall into this range have their entire raise applied to their base pay rate.
WHY IS THERE A MAX?
Typically in this kind of structure, once an employee reaches the top of her grade, she’s ineligible to get an increase to her base rate beyond usual standard-of-living increases. There’s a limit to how much an employer will have to pay each hourly employee. This obviously helps employers project and cap their labor costs over time, and frustrates employees. The “max” implies that, at some point, the skills and experience that an employee brings to work reach a limit.
WHAT DOES SHARE THINK ABOUT MAX?
SHARE maintains that there’s ongoing, continuous value to the experience each member brings to our hospital. We believe that an employee’s value to our hospital grows over time. The longer a person works in our hospital, the more relationships they can develop, and the more institutional memory they carry. There’s no limit to that. So why would that not be reflected in ongoing raises?
HOW DID “MAX” WORK BEFORE?
Before we invented the Max Cap (i.e. when there was only a max), employees at the Max would receive the negotiated ATB increase to the max hourly rate. The remaining amount of any negotiated increase (i.e. platform movement) was paid out as a bonus. Although the money didn’t all go into the member’s base pay and compound over time, they did receive the raise. It was the best compromise we could reach at the time.
When a member was approaching the max (i.e. their ATB and/or platform increase would result in their pay rate surpassing the max), their pay rate stopped at the max and any remaining increase was paid in a lump sum.
HOW DOES THE MAX CAP WORK?
The arrangement we previously made regarding Max now applies to the Max Cap.
When a member is already at the max cap at the time of any ATB and/or platform increase, their pay rate shall increase only to the extent that the max cap itself increases; any increase beyond the max cap will be paid in a lump sum.
When a member is approaching the max cap (i.e. their ATB and/or platform increase would result in their pay rate surpassing the max cap), their pay rate will stop
Don’t forget! Raise time can be a great time to set aside more money in your 401(k), and get even more benefit from the employer’s match. If you have questions, or would like help calculating your raise, please call or email the SHARE office.
Kona Enders, SHARE’s First Frontline Leader Fellow
This month we welcomed our first SHARE Frontline Leader Fellow, Kona Enders. Kona has worked as a PCA on 3 West at the University campus for seventeen years, where she has long been recognized as a strong advocate for her patients and coworkers. She’s served as a union rep for most of that time, and recently joined the Labor Management Partnership Council.
Kona with SHARE Organizer Will Erickson
We developed our Frontline Leader Fellowship to provide SHARE leaders with an opportunity to become more deeply oriented to SHARE’s approach to organizing people and solving problems. Fellows will spend a month with the SHARE staff, accompanying organizers to meetings and events and helping to keep in touch with members, as well as receiving training in topics like de-escalation, process improvement, and time management. To help us ramp up and knock out the kinks, Kona will split her time between 3 West and SHARE, extending the fellowship to two months. It’s a new idea, and we’re grateful to Kona for showing her typical courage in agreeing to be our first participant.
One of things you’re most likely to hear people say in describing Kona is her capacity say sometimes hard things to people, whoever they are – she’s reminded more than one doctor to foam their hands or keep their voice down. But somehow even when she’s calling you out, it feels like a gift. “My mother always said you have to speak your truth, but in a respectful way,” she explains.
This Spring and Summer, Kona worked exclusively with patients battling Covid-19. “It was scary,” she says of the experience. “And it was really difficult – they were so sick.” You can read more about her experience here.
Kona grew up in Liberia before following her older brother to Central Massachusetts. She has an adult daughter who also works in health care, and lives with her husband in North Worcester. If you see Kona in the hallway or are lucky enough to get a call from her checking in on you, please thank her for taking on this new challenge!
SHARE-UMass Memorial Statement about Flexibility in the Times of COVID
“Flexibility is to the mutual benefit of employees and the employer. It helps to address operational work flow needs, and family needs.” – SHARE-UMass Memorial contract, page 68
When that contract language was written, no one had any idea about what we would be facing 20 years later with this COVID pandemic. It’s been said often: These are unprecedented times. In addition to all the changes that the COVID pandemic has brought to our hospital, we now must cope with the changes lots of schools are making for the Fall. Remote learning and a whole variety of school schedules are the most recent entirely unpredictable piece of the COVID crisis.
SHARE and UMass Memorial Medical Center are discussing how to help employees, keep valuable employees, and keep the hospital running. It’s in everyone’s interest to find ways to help SHARE members be both good workers and good parents, and to limit the spread of the Coronavirus.
We are encouraging departments use all the flexibility in their control to try to make this work for as many SHARE members and departments as possible. The identification of different solutions for different employees is based on the individual employee and the department’s needs without regard for a workforce member’s race, color, national origin, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected status.
Goals to Be Balanced
Let’s be clear about the goals that we are trying to achieve, though how to balance them may not be easy in some situations:
Operational needs of the department – getting the work done
Work security – keeping SHARE members working despite the COVID challenges
Safety – social distancing, preventing the spread of the virus
Fairness – Balancing needs of all employees in the department.
Guiding Principles for How to Approach a Problem
Flexibility: The more we can empower departments to offer flexibility, the more likely we are to find solutions that work for individuals and the whole department. (See ideas below.)
Creativity is encouraged: If your department can come up with an unusual solution that works for everyone and gets the work done, more power to you! Senior leaders in the hospital are encouraging flexibility, though they do need to know how departments are solving problems.
Transparency: When everyone understands what the problem is and what the limitations are, they are more likely to be able to come up with a solution and understand why a change is a good idea.
SHARE members having a say is key. Working things out together as a department allows people to volunteer to help in ways that work for them. Two heads (or twelve) are better than one when looking for ideas and suggestions.
Not One Size Fits All: Different people may need different kinds of help or flexibility. Every department is different. Solutions for lower income employees may be different than those for higher income employees.
Getting help: SHARE Organizers and Reps and Human Resources Business Partners are happy to help and can escalate the department’s issues when needed.
There may be times when an implemented solution to a problem no longer meets the needs of the department/team and SHARE member. When this happens, the manager should discuss with the appropriate HR Business Partner and SHARE Organizer and Rep.
Flexibility Ideas that Might Help
This is a list of possible items that could be changed to help an employee and department deal with a problem related to COVID and/or Child Care. It is not meant to be an exhaustive list.
Decreasing or increasing hours: Could be permanent or temporary. Others in the department may want to pick up extra time or decrease time in a way that adds up to a solution for the department.
Work from Home: We encourage departments to look with a fresh eye at what tasks can be done from home. Work from Home is functioning quite well in a variety of departments already. Perhaps 2 SHARE members could split the week so that each could work from home on the days their child is learning remotely.
Change to working days or hours: It could be moving from days to evenings to accommodate schooling needs or changing start and end times. If someone is working from home, perhaps the flexibility to accomplish 8 hours of work across 10 hours would help, if the work does not need to be done at a certain time. Or some employees may want to work more on the weekend.
Juggling tasks: Co-workers could swap tasks, to make the timing or work from home possible. Everyone needs to be involved in that conversation, so no one feels “dumped on.”
Bringing (older) kids to work is usually not possible but has worked in some areas in a pinch.
Technological Solutions: IS has been asked to help where technology is limiting flexibility, such as with phone systems that allow working from home. Please escalate these issues so that we can find a solution if possible.
Job Sharing: See page 60 in the SHARE-UMass Memorial contract for guidelines.
Extra staff: Float pool or temporary staff could help.
If your department comes up with ideas to add to this list, please let us know so that we can share them with others!