bargaining update 3/29: remote work, Probationary period, Drones

On Wednesday, our second bargaining meeting, we presented the company with our non-economic proposals, which included formatting changes (including more inclusive language throughout the contract), reducing the probationary period for new hires, changes to the just cause language, requiring notification of your Weingarten Rights, a drone policy and updates to our current remote work memorandum of understanding (MOU). We also answered questions from the company’s bargaining committee about these various topics. 

The company provided us with their proposed updates and changes to the remote work MOU as well. Most significantly, their proposal strikes through what we feel is the most important sentence in the entire agreement, which currently states that the company is “oriented toward employee preference” when it comes to work location. While they continue to include the section of the MOU that requires effects bargaining in the event that they require 75% or more of the staff to work all on-site or all-remote, striking that line would give the company wide latitude to implement a mandate on work location. 

The company assures us that they have no such plans to require employees to return to the office full-time, but that obviously could change at any time, as we’ve seen with other companies. When we asked if there are even enough workspaces to accommodate a fully on-site workforce, they said, “There are enough for Guild employees.”

We are not eager to respond with a counter-proposal at this time, based on the language they proposed today. We are concerned about parking, Orca Card subsidies and other issues that are connected with a potential on-site mandate from the company, and will need to have more discussions with you all before we entertain their proposal. Guild members have overwhelmingly communicated that preserving flexibility is paramount and that’s what we will fight for.

Our next meeting will be April 12, and the company plans to present more language at that time. We will be offering the majority of our remaining proposals, including a wage proposal and other economic proposals.