BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Members of the University of Vermont Medical Center’s night shift support staff walked out on Wednesday night, calling it a “march on the boss”.
UVM Medical Center’s night shift housekeeping staff say their management is changing their schedules without consulting them, which is a violation of their union contract.
The UVMMC Support Staff contract states, “Weekend schedules will not be changed without consulting the bargaining unit employee. If weekend schedules have to be changed, UVMMC will see volunteers first. If no bargaining unit employee volunteers, the least senior bargaining unit employee based on cost center seniority will be chosen to change weekends,” and that line is found in Article 8, Section H, part 4 of the contract.
In a statement released by the UVM Medical Center, they say, “[We] are proud of the contract we negotiated with our support staff in September 2023. we work hard to follow the contract, we are discussing this issue with the union, and believe our current practices regarding scheduling of staff, which are meant to ensure the safety of our patients and balance the workload of our teams, meet that goal.”
The union says conversations with the medical center will continue in the following days.