Butler’s cross-training program offers our employees a valuable opportunity to expand their skill sets and gain experience in different areas of the Hospital while also supporting operational needs by providing supplementary coverage of shift vacancies. This proposal ensures that the program continues to be executed thoughtfully and responsibly so that it remains sustainable and supports both employee development and operational needs.

Butler proposes forming a Workplace Violence Prevention Task Force that would report to the Health & Safety Committee for the purpose of reviewing current protocols, training, and reporting procedures related to workplace violence. It would also work to identify systemic and department-level opportunities for safety improvements.

The Hospital’s recruitment and retention committee counter maintains the concepts of a regular meeting cadence and data sharing, while clarifying the committee scope and creating a committee structure that is inclusive of equal representation from each of the (4) collective bargaining units.

With the introduction of Juneteenth as a federally-recognized holiday, we’re proposing adding it to the list of paid holidays, taking the place of a floating holiday. This will make the policy consistent with Care New England corporate and other CNE operating units.

Butler is proposing taking education and training programs that are currently in a Memorandum of Understanding and formalizing them within the language of the contract. This includes a $100,000 per year contribution by Butler (up to a maximum balance of $150,000) that can be accessed by any bargaining unit. The fund would be jointly administered by Butler and the Union.

Currently, Group Life/AD&D coverage is tied to annual base salary. The benefit amount is 1.5 times annual base salary to a $50,000 maximum for benefit-eligible employees with no minimum salary requirement. Benefit amounts would immediately adjust, if applicable, following any change in base salary. Coverage is effective on the first day of the month following the date of hire, instead of at the end of the probationary period.

The separate term life insurance offered through Colonial Life would be discontinued.

A detailed summary of proposed changes to medical coverage will be provided following the April 8 negotiation session, during which an independent consultant will present information on the proposed plan designs to delegates.

Butler will maintain the existing pension plan for all employees currently enrolled. Effective December 31, 2025, the hospital will freeze new entrants into the plan. After that date, new hires will be automatically enrolled in Butler’s 403(b) retirement plan. Participants in the 403(b) would receive a 100% match of the first 6% of eligible compensation.

A detailed summary of proposed changes to the retirement plan will be provided following the April 8 negotiation session, during which an independent consultant will present information on the proposed plan to delegates.

Off-step employees would receive:

• 4% 4 weeks after ratification
• 2% in 2026
• 2% in 2027
• 4% in 2028
• Over the life of the proposed 4-year contract, off-scale employees would receive 12% total increases.

For on-step employees, the Hospital’s proposal increases the step scales each year in addition to step movement (see chart below):

• 2% 4 weeks after ratification
• 1% in 2026
• 1% in 2027
• 2% in 2028
• Over the life of the proposed 4-year contract, on-scale employees would receive 11.6% – 28% total increases.

If a bargaining unit employee decides to voluntarily leave their employment at Butler, but within one year of leaving decides they would like to return to the same position at Butler (and they are approved for rehire), they would be able to resume employment with the same pay and vacation accrual they had upon leaving. Our hope is that this would help to incentivize experienced staff who have left to return to the hospital. This proposal was modified in response to feedback from the Union, which was against the concept of bridging seniority.

We are proposing several changes to these processes.

• Increasing the time (from 3 months to one year) required in a role before an employee can bid for a role on another shift or unit.
• Removing a specific timeframe and giving the hospital discretion as to when a successful bidder for a position will assume their new role.
• Employees who have been issued discipline in the prior year, or who are currently on an active leave of absence, will not be considered for vacancies.
• Employees who accept a successful vacancy bid will have one pay period (instead of the current 30 days) to determine their own suitability for the position.

These changes all support continuity and consistency within teams and help ensure teams have adequate staffing across the hospital.

The union (instead of the hospital) will provide new bargaining unit employees with dues authorization cards, and the union must provide the cards to the hospital within two weeks to ensure timely dues deductions.

In order to ensure adequate Housekeeping staff are available, we are proposing limits on the number of staff who can be on vacation at any given time. A chart is provided in the linked proposal that defines the numbers based on shift, time of year, and day of the week.

This proposal adds the union office to the contract language of locations where union representatives may meet with delegates/employees during non-work time.

If an employee is suspended or discharged, the method of notifying the union will be updated to be an email instead of a letter sent through the post office.

This adds language that prevents discrimination on the basis of marital status, parental status, genetic information, union membership, or any other legally protected characteristic in addition to the other previously recognized characteristics.

The probationary period for newly-hired part-time and per diem employees would be increased from 90 calendar days to 180 calendar days. Because these groups of employees work fewer hours, 90 days does not provide an adequate time period during which their performance and skills can be adequately evaluated. Extending the probationary period allows both manager and employee adequate time to evaluate job performance, and we believe this will help retain newly-hired employees.

This proposal adds a minimum to the amount of hours employees must have in their sick time bank – 8 hours – in order to participate in sick time sell back, and specifies that the sell back will occur via direct deposit. Last year, there were 96 employees with less than 8 hours of eligible sick time in their sick banks. Of those, only 3 employees elected to sell back sick time.

This changes the deadline for submitting a request for payroll correction by same-day check for an error not related to missing punches or time adjustment sheets from 8am on the Tuesday following payroll to Noon on the Monday following payroll. The Hospital’s proposal is that corrected checks will issue that same day.

Click here to view the exact text of the changes Butler is proposing to specific portions of the current contract.

This isn’t the entirety of the proposed contract, it only includes the sections to which we are proposing changes. This document will be updated as proposals are added, changed, or removed.