We have been so buoyed by your picket line photos. Irish dancing! Karaoke! Burritos!
The tagline for today, courtesy of Ben, is “not much moved at the table, but a lot has happened”
We are holding the line. We feel strong. We know management feels pressure.
Here’s where we stand after a 12-hour day of bargaining:
Management’s latest offer to us included only COLA, lump sum, and healthcare. Specifically:
- COLA: 0% in year 1 and 4.25% in year 2
- $625 lump sum payment
- No change on healthcare caps
- Total economic package cost $8.84 million (no increase from yesterday.)
As a reminder, their offer to us on Tuesday night before we went on strike was $8.7M. This is not meaningful progress from management.
Our offer to them represents significant movement. We came down on COLA (2.75% in each year, plus a lump sum payment in year 1) because the mediator signaled that they would be open to considering non-economic subjects like stopping course cuts and program closures in exchange for a lower pricetag on our proposal. Management responded with a letter from their lawyer threatening to sue us for including permissive subjects in our proposal. The letter is baseless – it’s hard to convey to people outside the rooms how desperate this feels to us. They’re exhausting all their strategies, and we feel confident that if we hold the line, they’ll be left with the only one option- negotiating a fair and reasonable contract. Here is some perspective in case you need a reminder of how unreasonable they are being.
At the mediator’s suggestion, we are taking a break tomorrow and will re-convene on Wednesday morning. We cannot overemphasize how important it will be to show up at as many events and pickets as you can. Today rattled them, let’s hold the line!
In addition to attending pickets every day, we HIGHLY encourage you to clear your calendar Thursday night to attend the People’s Board Meeting. It’s going to be spicy! Check the strike website for details.