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Mayo Methodist Bargaining

Bargaining News and Updates including proposals from the Union and employer.

Bargaining Update - March 13, 2024

Hello RMH SEIU members! The bargaining team is excited to announce that yesterday, March 12th, we reached a tentative agreement with Mayo Clinic for our one-year wage opener. Here are the details:

6% across the board raise, with 8% for employees at the 20 year step

9% across the board raise for SPTs and PCAs, with 11% for employees at the 20 year step

The majority of classifications will be starting at or above $20 an hour, and every union member will be reaching $20 an hour by the 1 year mark.

Additionally, the raises with be implemented retroactively to February 1st, so everyone will receive back pay for the wage increase.

The next step is for you, the membership, the vote on whether or not to accept this agreement. We will be voting next Tuesday, March 19th at Methodist Hospital from 9am-5pm. The vote will take place in Dining Room #6 in the employee cafeteria. In order to vote you must be a member in good standing. If you have not yet signed up for the union you can do so at the vote.

I want to give a huge thank you to the bargaining team for not giving up at the table. I also really want to emphasize that we would not have gotten this deal without you the membership standing together, picketing, sharing your stories with the media, and soliciting public support. I will send out an email update and reminder about the vote next week so keep an eye out for that!

Bargaining Update - February 14, 2024


In bargaining today, the teams each made 5 passes of wage proposals, and we made some progress towards an agreement – but not enough. We ended the day with an offer from Mayo of 5% across the board and 6% at the 20 year step, with SPTs and PCAs receiving an additional 1.5% on top of the across-the-board increases in order to bring these positions closer to the market rate for those jobs. We also got an offer from them to increase the scale for CRCST certified employees to 3.5% above the non-certified rate (up from a 3% difference currently). 

The Bargaining Team is scheduling at least one additional date to continue bargaining towards an agreement. While the engagement from all of the membership and the determination of this Bargaining Team has brought us a long way from their introductory proposal, we know this isn’t the best Mayo can do. We will continue to fight for every last penny to get the best increases that we possibly can. Moving things to arbitration is still an option in our toolbox, however we want to continue negotiating as we believe we can still get more out of Mayo at the bargaining table.

Stay tuned for more updates as we schedule future dates and return to the bargaining table soon.

Bargaining Update - February 7, 2024

We have some updates for you on our negotiations that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. Mayo ended the day with their proposal at 4.1% across the board with the exception of the 20 year step at 4.35%. This is still below where we need to be and doesn’t take into account the groups that are below market rates.

Mayo continues to move in very small increments in their proposals, yet is accusing us of not moving fast enough for them. The bargaining team continues to hold the belief that we are negotiating in good faith while also maintaining our core wage demands, and that Mayo is the one that’s not moving fast or far enough.

Mayo also continues to deny that Rochester is in the same market as the Twin Cities. We know this isn’t true, as the cost of living in Rochester has grown closer and closer to that of the cities, and we are losing employees to those hospitals even with the commute. They also continue to deny that they factor in inflation and cost of living into their wage increases, both for union and non-union. This is misguided and insulting to everyone.

Fredrick Douglas said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand, it never has and it never will”. We are very clear and steadfast in our demands for a $20 minimum starting wage, market adjustments that reflect that fact that some groups are up to $3 less than equal positions in the Twin Cities, and proportional raises for all employees.

Additionally, we would like to thank everyone who was able to come out to the picket last week. We definitely made some noise and made it clear to the people on the 11th floor that we will not let them bully us into rolling over and doing whatever they want. The press coverage was great, and it is clear that the public supports you all in getting what you deserve!

We will be back at the table next Tuesday, February 13th. We hope that Mayo will finally do the right thing and bring us proposals that actually reflect the fact that this hospital cannot run without you all, that without you there is no Mayo Clinic. Depending on how the day goes, we will be taking their final proposals to a vote of the membership. The choices will be to vote yes to accept, or vote down the proposal and choose to take our case to binding interest arbitration. This is a serious step that we haven’t taken in decades, but we feel as though we have no choice as we face unprecedented attacks from Mayo on our livelihoods. We will continue to update you with any new developments.

Bargaining Update - January 24, 2024

We met with the employer Tuesday, January 23rd. We started the day with putting our proposal across the table. We made some good faith movement on our proposal while maintaining our priorities of a $20 minimum wage, market adjustments for classifications that are nearly $3 less than in the Twin Cities for the same work, increasing the difference between the 15 and 20 year steps, and wages across the board that reflect the discrepancy between union and non-union raises over the last few years. Despite our good faith bargaining, the employer came in at 3.2%, only a .2% increase from where we ended last week. After a few other back and forth proposals, the employer ended the day with a proposal of 3.5% raises across the board. We are disappointed and angry, and find their offer insulting and disrespectful. Because of their dismal proposals at the table on 1/23, we will move forward with an informational picket at Methodist on January 31st from 2:30-4:30. We will meet at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Center Street.

This is an informational picket, which means that it is not a work stoppage and employees must attend before or after their shift, on their break, or on a day off. We hope everyone who is able to turns out for as strong of a showing as possible, to make it clear to Mayo that we will not back down on our demands and that we deserve far more than what they apparently think we are worth.

We are asking that those planning to attend fill out the picket pledge form so we know what to expect numbers wise. Please share this form with your coworkers, family, and friends! Anyone is welcome to come out and picket and show Mayo that we will not give up. The link for that form can be found here: RMH Info Picket Commit (jotform.com)

We also scheduled two more days of bargaining with the employer. We will return to the table again on February 6th and February 13th. Keep an eye out for more updates as things progress!

Bargaining Update - January 16, 2024
We met with the employer on Tuesday, January 16th. We started the day with putting our next proposal forward. We moved on some of our items but are holding firm on making sure we have a starting wage of $20 for the lowest paid classifications, market adjustments for the groups that are below other hospital systems, and proportional raises for everyone else that reflect the work that we all do and the economic realities we face. After exchanging several other proposals with the employer at the table, we ended the day with the employer putting their proposal for a 3% increase across the board for the bargaining unit. We find this absolutely unacceptable. As a result, the bargaining team notified the employer at the table that we will be filing a 10 day notice to picket at Methodist. The employer tried to make us go back on this decision, but we held firm as we feel that it is the strongest way to show Mayo that we are united and will not stand for their offensive proposals.

In the healthcare sector, workers are required by law to give a 10 day notice to picket. We have scheduled our picket for Wednesday, January 31st from 2:30-4:30. This is an informational picket, which means that it is not a work stoppage and employees must attend before or after their shift or on their break. We hope everyone who is able turns out to make a strong of a showing as possible and make it clear to Mayo that we will not be backing down on our demands and that we deserve far more than what they apparently think we are worth.

We will be back at the table next Tuesday, January 23rd and will have a mediator with us to help get a tentative agreement. If we do not get an acceptable proposal from the employer next week we will be moving forward with our picket plan. We will continue to update you all about picket plans and how bargaining goes next week.

Bargaining Update - January 9, 2024
Our first day of bargaining was Tuesday, January 9th. As the union we came in strong and high with our proposals. We are at minimum demanding a base of $20 an hour for the lowest paid members on our wage scales, market adjustments for the classifications that are below market and below SEIU contracts in the Twin Cities, and proportional increases from there for everyone in our contract. Unfortunately, the employer came in with much lower proposals than we need and deserve, and we ended the day with them putting across a proposal of 2.25% across the board.

While this is obviously insulting to our membership, we know that this was only the first day and we have more room to negotiate over the next two sessions. The next will be Tuesday, January 16th, and the one after that will be Tuesday, January 23rd. If we do not get a tentative agreement next week, we have agreed to the employer’s request to bring in a federal mediator for the 23rd.

Additionally, if there is not significant movement from the employer next week, we will need to put additional pressure on them outside of the bargaining table and potentially do an informational picket to push for our demands more publicly. This would not be a strike or a work stoppage, but instead something that people will need to come to on their break or before or after their shift. Look out for more information on whether this is something that the bargaining team will call for after our next session.

We will keep you updated as we continue negotiations over the next couple weeks.

Upcoming Bargaining Dates

Bargaining Team