Hello! We are the M+R Union.

A MORE INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE

These wins will make M+R a more safe and supportive workplace—one where our policies and practices genuinely accept and welcome all backgrounds, identities, appearances, circumstances, and abilities.

✔️ Establish an inclusive definition of loved ones for all types of leave (bereavement, sick, personal, and family caregiving)

✔️ Secure the right to remote work of all types (permanent, occasional, temporary, as-needed), and sustain COVID-levels of financial support for hybrid and full-time remote work moving forward

✔️ Provide greater flexibility for alternative work schedules and removal of barriers (like an application process) that are invasive and cause unnecessary stress

✔️ Strengthen anti-discrimination protections, including protections for categories not covered by law (such as gender expression) and a right to recourse via grievance

✔️ Formally commit to hiring, retaining, and advancing staff whose identities are underrepresented in company leadership, and a Rooney rule for all new hires (requiring M+R to solicit +30% minority applicants)

✔️ Include paid time off for Juneteenth plus all existing paid holidays

✔️ Better accommodate learning and work styles by prohibiting M+R from mandating that you use a real-time Unanet timer

✔️ Strengthen the grievance process so that we have recourse when our rights are violated

✔️ Vastly shorten wait time before new staff are eligible to take parental/medical/family caregiving leave

✔️ Provide paid leave for staff who experience miscarriage and/or stillbirth

 FIGHTING BURNOUT

These wins will protect our time and safeguard our mental and emotional resources — making M+R a better place to be, and a more attractive place to stay.

✔️ Simplify and expand access to flex time

✔️ Lower the threshold to accrue comp time (+2 hours in a single day, down from +4) and longer allowance to use it (3 months, up from 30 days)

✔️ Prohibit penalizing staff for low utilization, and introduce safeguards to prevent overstaffing

✔️ Make vacation scheduling easier and more flexible, including providing the ability to schedule a day off with less than week’s notice

✔️ Add an additional week of sick leave and explicitly include mental health

✔️ Reclaim our right to bargain over a broad range of possible policy changes between now and the next contract (such as new positions within the unit or altered job descriptions).

BETTER PAY AND BENEFITS

These wins work together to meet and advance your baseline needs: time away from work and financial security.

✔️ Secure competitive salary bands that get M+R back in line with a competitive labor market and provide financial security for all staff

✔️ Establish pay equity between practice and specialist areas

✔️ Reduce the out-of-pocket cost of insurance, especially for couple/child/family plans, through 100% employer covered health care premiums

✔️ Make vacation easier to take by making all PTO available on Jan 1 and creating more clear & reasonable blackout policies

✔️ Secure additional vacation time after 2, 4, and 6 years, instead of having to wait 5 years to see an increase and 7 years to max out

✔️ Increase M+R’s 401(k) contribution to a full (formerly half) match of 3%, in addition to the 1.5% automatic contribution

✔️ Continue protecting the annual 3% cost-of-living raise

✔️ An annual salary band adjustment that’s large enough to keep up with the market and inflation across a four-year contract

✔️ Introduce longevity raises so that staff who are succeeding in roles that lack promotion pathways can still see their skills rewarded (and so staff in any role can choose to decline promotions without taking a big financial risk)

✔️ One-time raises for all staff to offset the missed 2021 raise and a $2,000 signing bonus to offset the removal of bonuses for this year

A PLACE TO THRIVE

These wins strengthen M+R’s commitment to staff, and make it easier for us to invest our time and energy in M+R as a place where we can grow our careers and do our best work.

✔️ Reduce the probation period from 9 months to 3 months and remove progressive term limits

✔️ Extend union membership and disciplinary protections to part-time and temporary employees

✔️ Establish transparency and due process around promotions, including the opportunity to advocate for off-cycle promotion, a right of first refusal if you’d previously been denied a promotion due to lack of business need, and better protections if a promotion is unfairly denied or you’re not given sufficient coaching/support

✔️ End wage stagnation among specialists through longevity raises and requirements for M+R to create promotion pathways wherever business needs allow

✔️ Provide flexibility for staff to shift roles and practice areas by requiring M+R to open new roles to internal applicants before pursuing external hires

✔️ Increase protections for staff on Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) including a week’s notice before PIP meetings, a revamped template that centers staff needs, and formal requirements for feedback and documentation

✔️ Create a more respectful and secure off-ramp for staff who are terminated through PIPs via a choice of either 4 weeks continued employment with a supported job search or 2 weeks continued employment with extra severance, plus 3 business days to make that decision

✔️ Allocate staff time for union activities including time for all members to attend monthly union meetings and expanded time for shop stewards and bargaining committee members

✔️ Protect our jobs by requiring M+R to explore alternatives with the union before pursuing any layoffs and providing the union with legal recourse if proposed layoffs affect more than 10% of the union or 50% of a practice area

✔️ Create security for temporary staff by giving recent temp staff a right of first refusal on new jobs and giving current temp staff an option to automatically convert to permanent if there’s a continuing need in their role