This week, the University and UPAMM representatives used the small group negotiations to continue discussions from last week and begin conversations around the remaining proposals. The teams are very close to resolving several additional proposals including jury/witness pay, military reserve duty pay, no strike/no lockout, and seniority. Substantial progress was also made on workplace safety, performance evaluations, and grievance and arbitration process.  In addition, the parties returned to discussion of the unique issues surrounding discipline for PAs, given their status as privileged providers subject to the Medical Staff Bylaws, and had very productive conversations. 

Additional time this week was spent discussing the union’s salary proposal with the University team having the opportunity to ask the union questions about their data and rationale for their proposal. This information was helpful in better understanding the union’s proposals. These discussions are likely to continue through the remaining small group sessions, in addition to further conversations related to disciplinary procedures and policies. 

With two weeks remaining in the small group negotiations, the teams are preparing for the week-long negotiating session planned for the first week of May. There will be several key issues left to resolve that week, but after four weeks of very productive discussions, we continue to feel confident that reaching a tentative agreement on a comprehensive contract in early May is a realistic goal.