Published: August 27, 2018

We call on Avamere to settle a fair contract!

We met with management on August 14th to continue negotiations for our new contract. We began the session hopeful that management would respond with a proposal that reflected our priorities. That is not what we received.

It was management’s turn to offer us a package, and what they proposed showed only minimal movement. They did offer a new bonus for working all scheduled shifts and picking up shifts, but as it is written we believe it would be nearly impossible for people to qualify for this bonus. Unfortunately, this proposal also does little to establish a fair wage structure and to recognize employees for our service to Avamere and offers no recognition of the differences in the work we do.

We are continuing to work hard to show management that our priorities need to be addressed. We need to establish a wage structure that improves recruitment and retention of staff. We need recognition that dementia care is harder work than assisted living care. We need recognition of our service to Avamere and our residents. 

At this point it has become obvious that we are not making the progress we had been hoping for. At the end of the day we had a discussion about bringing in a third-party mediator to help facilitate a more productive discussion. Our next bargaining sessions are scheduled for August 28 and September 6, but these dates may change depending on the availability of the mediator.

We ended the day with making sure management knows we are serious about a fair contract. We presented them with petitions from our buildings asking for a fair contract signed by a strong majority of Avamere ALF workers.

We also presented them with petitions containing signatures we collected at our union’s General Council–including 400 signatures from members, guests and delegates from across the state.

We call on Avamere to settle a fair contract that recognizes and values our work and includes:

  • Wage scales and fair cost of living increases
  • Recognition that work in Arbor is harder
  • A way to resolve the retention and staffing challenges we face in every building

Please continue to wear purple and show management we are standing together for the long haul. Keep in touch with your CATS about further actions and bargaining sessions!