Job conundrum...stay or leave - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Fotzlid · 03-24-2010, 10:49 PM

I'm a bit unsure what to do so I thought I'd seek the collective advise of the people here.
I work in a hospital and am a member of one of the unions there. The hospital is having severe financial problems (millions in the red). Our contract is up on 3/31/10. Negotiations are going nowhere. In fact, the union announced today they are declaring negotiations at an impasse. We seemed to have skipped right over using a federal negotiator, which they told us was the next step. Going on strike is the next step after that. Management was asking for a 3% wage reduction and 5% increase in insurance coverage payment. The union was saying no unless management would agree to a time limit. Management said no. If a strike is called, I don't see how the hospital could afford to hire replacement workers.
Today, management said they were going ahead with the wage reduction plan starting next week (the last week of the contract) despite the union not agreeing to it and the union is planning on filing a law suit to stop it.
There must be a reason why management chose the last week of the contract to force the issue. I'm not a lawyer, but I imagine the monies would be frozen till the situation was resolved. The wage reduction and hike in insurance costs would amount to a significant amount of money in dispute and the earned time is payed out at current wage.
My feeling is management is forcing the issue to try and force a strike. I believe their plan is to declare bankruptcy which would void the union contracts and give them the opportunity to restructure their debt. The hospital also already told us the earned time is 4th in line to be payed out in the event of bankruptcy and there was a cap on the amount they would have to pay out if there was anything left. I forget the exact number but it was less than the value of what I currently am holding and there is no promise we'd even get that.

Now my issue is my earned time (vacation,sick,personal and holiday time goes into one account and we can draw on it as needed). We were only allowed to cash out a small amount till the contract ended on 3/31, then we could get the rest of it starting 4/1. I have about $16k worth of earned time. The union is telling us there is enough money to cover all the earned time in the hospital (which I last heard was worth over $1.5 million). I have no idea where the money came from as they asked us to not cash out all the time earlier because it would have been too much of a financial burden if everyone tried to cash out at the same time. At least thats what they told us. I don't know who to listen too at this point.

I started looking for a new job a week or so ago and I don't have any solid leads yet. There are jobs out there, they just don't pay what I'm making now.

Should I wait and hope I'll get the money after 4/1 (when a lot of other people are trying to get their money as well) or just quit so I can cash the time out before anything else goes awry after the wage reduction goes into affect? Would hiring a lawyer be worth it?

Craven Morehead · 03-25-2010, 05:47 AM

How certain are you that you will find a comparable job? I've been out of work for a little over a year. There's little I can find that would be an upgrade over what I had. You could easily end up out of work for a significant amount of time. And then end up accepting something for less that what you receive now. The $16K will seem immaterial at that point. Quiting a job without having one to go to always looks bad to potential employers

Hektore · 03-25-2010, 06:02 AM

There is no way I would quit a job right now without having another already lined up. Even if you quit now, it doesn't seem like there will be any guarantee that you will get your earned time, even if it's legally owed to you.

Fotzlid · 03-25-2010, 06:31 AM

I know leaving before landing something new is never a good idea. There is also a good chance I won't have a job to quit in the near future. I agree that there is a chance I won't get the earned time regardless, but do I sit back and watch it disappear or at least try to do something to get it?
As far as finding something comparable, I'm only looking to find something that is fairly close to what I currently earn. Similar or greater wages would require a longer commute and more costly expenses which, at this point in my career, isn't really worth it.

03-24-2010, 10:49 PM	#1 (permalink)
Fotzlid Junkie Location: Greater Boston area	Job conundrum...stay or leave I'm a bit unsure what to do so I thought I'd seek the collective advise of the people here. I work in a hospital and am a member of one of the unions there. The hospital is having severe financial problems (millions in the red). Our contract is up on 3/31/10. Negotiations are going nowhere. In fact, the union announced today they are declaring negotiations at an impasse. We seemed to have skipped right over using a federal negotiator, which they told us was the next step. Going on strike is the next step after that. Management was asking for a 3% wage reduction and 5% increase in insurance coverage payment. The union was saying no unless management would agree to a time limit. Management said no. If a strike is called, I don't see how the hospital could afford to hire replacement workers. Today, management said they were going ahead with the wage reduction plan starting next week (the last week of the contract) despite the union not agreeing to it and the union is planning on filing a law suit to stop it. There must be a reason why management chose the last week of the contract to force the issue. I'm not a lawyer, but I imagine the monies would be frozen till the situation was resolved. The wage reduction and hike in insurance costs would amount to a significant amount of money in dispute and the earned time is payed out at current wage. My feeling is management is forcing the issue to try and force a strike. I believe their plan is to declare bankruptcy which would void the union contracts and give them the opportunity to restructure their debt. The hospital also already told us the earned time is 4th in line to be payed out in the event of bankruptcy and there was a cap on the amount they would have to pay out if there was anything left. I forget the exact number but it was less than the value of what I currently am holding and there is no promise we'd even get that. Now my issue is my earned time (vacation,sick,personal and holiday time goes into one account and we can draw on it as needed). We were only allowed to cash out a small amount till the contract ended on 3/31, then we could get the rest of it starting 4/1. I have about $16k worth of earned time. The union is telling us there is enough money to cover all the earned time in the hospital (which I last heard was worth over $1.5 million). I have no idea where the money came from as they asked us to not cash out all the time earlier because it would have been too much of a financial burden if everyone tried to cash out at the same time. At least thats what they told us. I don't know who to listen too at this point. I started looking for a new job a week or so ago and I don't have any solid leads yet. There are jobs out there, they just don't pay what I'm making now. Should I wait and hope I'll get the money after 4/1 (when a lot of other people are trying to get their money as well) or just quit so I can cash the time out before anything else goes awry after the wage reduction goes into affect? Would hiring a lawyer be worth it?

03-25-2010, 06:02 AM	#3 (permalink)
Hektore Junkie Location: Greater Harrisburg Area	There is no way I would quit a job right now without having another already lined up. Even if you quit now, it doesn't seem like there will be any guarantee that you will get your earned time, even if it's legally owed to you. __________________ The advantage law is the best law in rugby, because it lets you ignore all the others for the good of the game.

03-25-2010, 05:47 AM	#2 (permalink)
Craven Morehead Custom User Title	How certain are you that you will find a comparable job? I've been out of work for a little over a year. There's little I can find that would be an upgrade over what I had. You could easily end up out of work for a significant amount of time. And then end up accepting something for less that what you receive now. The $16K will seem immaterial at that point. Quiting a job without having one to go to always looks bad to potential employers

03-25-2010, 06:31 AM	#4 (permalink)
Fotzlid Junkie Location: Greater Boston area	I know leaving before landing something new is never a good idea. There is also a good chance I won't have a job to quit in the near future. I agree that there is a chance I won't get the earned time regardless, but do I sit back and watch it disappear or at least try to do something to get it? As far as finding something comparable, I'm only looking to find something that is fairly close to what I currently earn. Similar or greater wages would require a longer commute and more costly expenses which, at this point in my career, isn't really worth it.