The good news: This afternoon, the Public Health Trust voted to approve the tentative agreement between Jackson unions and management regarding the 5%.
That agreement will now go to the County Commission. The agreement stipulates the healthcare concession will be reduced to 2 percent, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2014. That last 2 percent will finally disappear on Sept. 30, 2014.
The other news: A financial subcommittee of the PHT voted to defer a decision on the 3% gain-sharing payment, which is a separate agreement between labor and management.
The delay was largely the result of vociferous disagreement expressed by board member Joe Arriola, who claimed not to recall previous discussions of CEO Migoya’s plan to share some of Jackson’s success with the dedicated employees who helped get the system back in the black.
On the whole, the general temperature of the board toward the gainsharing agreement was warm. Most said they supported the idea, but there was some concern about timing and impact. In the end, they decided to go ahead and approve the 5% agreement and take another crack at the 3% agreement sometime within the next 30 days.
What does this mean?
The County Commission will vote on the 5% agreement, likely on Feb. 4. After they approve it, Jackson will begin adjusting paychecks in the next full pay period.
The 3% gain-sharing payment will come back to the PHT within the next few weeks, unless a decision is made to bypass that body and take the tentative agreement directly to the County Commission. We will share details as more information becomes available.
In the meantime, celebrate this next step in our victory on the 5%!