At our second bargaining session on Thursday, September 7, management offered a comprehensive counter-proposal to every one of our opening demands, except for wages.
It’s encouraging to finally see Fresenius responding to dialysis caregivers at the bargaining table and negotiating, but in doing so they revealed just how little they think we deserve and, in turn, how much we still need to fight.
Fresenius management rejected our proposals to:
- Improve our health insurance and create an employer-paid option
- Improve our retirement plan
- Improve education benefits
- Recognize dialysis caregivers under one contract
Let’s get ready to stand up for our rights and fight for the contract we deserve.
“Excitement was what I felt at my first bargaining session. It felt good that finally, we now have the chance to fight for what we truly deserve,” said Kathy Kam-sy, Registered Nurse at Fresenius Fletcher Park. “Even though the Fresenius executives were negotiating without really negotiating, this is just the beginning.”
Review our bargaining priorities below:
- Recognition: We will not allow management to dilute our strength by separating us. We demand that RNs, CCHTs, ESTs, Social Workers, Registered Dietitians, Clinical Administrative Coordinators, and Biomed Techs all be under one collective bargaining agreement.
- Job Security: We believe in essential workplace rights designed to ensure progressive discipline, due process, and layoff protections, among other rights, as a foundation for all future negotiations with management.
- Labor Management: We proposed regular monthly meetings to provide a direct communication channel between workers and management over issues impacting working conditions, pay, and benefits.
- Patient Safety & Staffing: We support a Joint Labor Management Staffing Committee composed of frontline caregivers to address issues of patient and worker safety.
- Benefits: We have proposed new benefits for dialysis workers that include fully paid healthcare along with new minimum employer contributions to our retirement based on years of service.
- Economics: Our bargaining team has made an economic proposal that keeps up with inflation and the rising cost of living. Our proposal includes clear wage scales that outline life-changing pay raises for dialysis workers.
Questions? Reach out to a bargaining team member or union representative.
