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Steve Tolman, state president ofAFL-CIO, joined workers to show support.
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The workers have been without a contract since March.
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The union represents social workers for many organizations in the Berkshires.

Social Workers Strike at Clinical and Support Options

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Heather Messer joined a dozen or so of her coworkers outside of the local Clinical and Support Options office on South Street to picket the management's contract offers.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Heather Messer inspires at-risk teenagers to better themselves, to stay in school, and to avoid gangs and substance abuse.
 
She feels the work is incredibly valuable to the clients and to Berkshire County. But, she doesn't feel her employer, Clinical and Support Options, sees that value.
 
On Thursday, she joined with a dozen other workers outside of the South Street office in a strike after the union and management failed to reach agreement on a new contract.
 
"I work primarily with children and teenagers that are at risk for either dropping out of school, becoming involved with gang violence, legal problems, substance abuse. I work with a lot of teenage girls who suffer from the usual teenage girl problems — self-esteem, depression, anxiety and the experience of growing up surrounded by the constant growing substance abuse problems," Messer said. 
 
"It is really valuable work, but we are here because we don't feel like our work is valued."
 
She and other Clinical and Support Options social workers work with people of all ages and connect them with plans and the resources they need for medial or mental health, housing, and courts.
 
Her job as a family support worker requires a bachelor's degree but the pay is just barely enough to pay her bills, she said.
 
Messer, a union steward for the local Service Employees International Union Local 509, said management asked the workers to do more but wouldn't agree to raising pay during contract negotiations.
 
She said jobs requiring a bachelor's degree start at $12 an hour without any contribution to pensions. For clinicians with master's degrees, it is only $14 an hour, she said. Those rates change depending on time served and experience. When the contract ended in October, the company asked the workers to increase the amount of work while continuing to offer a 3 percent yearly increase.
 
"We've been trying to bargain with management to increase that raise because it is just not enough. We see only a couple hundred dollars added to our salaries each year. If they want to keep people, they have to allow us to be able to live and be able to take care of ourselves," Messer said.
 
The union and the company held dozens of meetings to come to an agreement to no avail. In March, the union voted against continuing on the old contract and later rejected the company's offer. 
 
"We've been sitting down with management multiple times since October and try to come to common ground where we feel like we're valued and management can still get the services they need from us to bring in the money," Messer said. "The biggest issue is that management wants to increase the productivity and people are struggling with the productivity as it is. There have been a lot of changes in health care and insurance that it is a struggle to reach the numbers as is."
 
While the union doesn't feel the increase is enough, the company officials say they went beyond meeting in the middle.
 
CEO Karin Jeffers said 3 percent for salaries workers over a three-year contract is above the national standard. In the last decade, Jeffers said the company conceded to 30 percent worth of increases without asking for more productivity.
 
"We have given exhaustive consideration to the proposals we have put forth and to those made by the bargaining committee," Jeffers wrote in a statement. "We have committed to offering what we can reasonably sustain to ensure the financial viability of the agency well into the future. We are reliant on public funding and publicly set rates to support our operations, and cannot offer more than we have. We simply cannot support the union demand to be paid more to work less."
 
Jeffers said the contract not only included the 3 percent wage hike and in return only asked for a 2 percent increase in productivity, which is measured by billable time to insurance companies and state reimbursements. She added the contract includes increased shift differentials, a 75 percent contribution to health insurance, three weeks vacation plus personal, holiday and sick time, increased mileage reimbursements, raised the ceiling of tuition reimbursement benefits, and raised the base salaries for many positions.
 
While that may be the offer now, the union says they've been working under unacceptable levels for years now. The union wants wages to increase more significantly. Messer said even with the increase in work and pay, it all adds up to about $15 an hour for someone with a master's degree.
 
The debate is similar to the caseload arguments the state Department of Children and Families recently picketed over in Pittsfield. The DCF workers are also represented by SEIU. Workers at the Brien Center, also represented by SEIU, narrowly avoided a strike during their recent negotiations. 
 
The workers and supporters stood outside of the company's South Street office with signs to draw attention to their plight.
Issues also reside in the "fee for service" workers. Those workers, also with degrees, get paid for only the hours they spend face to face with a client. Messer says none of the paperwork, travel, and coordination with service organizations are compensated. If a client doesn't show up for the appointment, the worker doesn't get paid.
 
There is a total of 50 union workers in the Pittsfield office and none of them receive contributions to retirement plans, Messer said, which puts the workers in a position of being paid low wages without future security.
 
"If everybody in the company was treated the same way, we wouldn't have a problem. But management and middle management receive contributions and matches. It doesn't feel like we are valued," Messer said. 
 
That has led to higher turnover, she said.
 
The strike is scheduled for three days after a federal arbitrator last week failed to bring the two sides to an agreement. The hope is that the strike will bring management back to the table to reach a deal.
 
The battle even caught the attention of the statewide AFL-CIO. AFL-CIO President Steve Tolman was the former Senate chair of the mental health and substance abuse joint subcommittee and he says the "continuity of care" that lets clients feel more comfortable with the social workers makes a huge difference. The wages have led to a lot of turnover in staff, he said, which ultimately hurts the clients.
 
"There are well-educated people who care about the most vulnerable population. And they are really struggling with the wages," Tolman said.
 
Tolman joined the strike in Pittsfield, saying social workers deserve to be able to take care of themselves instead of living on "poverty-level wages."
 
"If our members out here are being mistreated the way they are being mistreated in these negotiation, it is unacceptable," Tolman said. "They care for our most vulnerable population. They care for people who really are struggling."
 
Tolman said the statewide organization fully supports the strike, which is occurring in offices all over Western Massachusetts.
 
"I don't care if it is in the Berkshires or Boston or whether it is in Cape Cod or Lawrence. If we have a struggle, the AFL-CIO is there to support our working members. They are not asking for too much here. They are asking for decency, for a living wage. They are asking this company to sit down and negotiate fairly," Tolman said. "Do you think it was easy for them to make this decision? It wasn't easy. They were pushed to the brink."

Tags: SEIU,   social work,   strike,   

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MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prepare for traffic impacts around Berkshire Medical Center through May for a state Department of Transportation project to improve situations and intersections on North Street and First Street.

Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.

BMC and Medical Arts Complex parking areas remain open and detours may be in place at certain times. The city will provide additional updates on changes to traffic patterns in the area as construction progresses.

The project has been a few years in the making, with a public hearing dating back to 2021. It aims to increase safety for all modes of transportation and improve intersection operation.

It consists of intersection widening and signalization improvements at First and Tyler streets, the conversion of North Street between Tyler and Stoddard Avenue to serve one-way southbound traffic only, intersection improvements at Charles Street and North Street, intersection improvements at Springside Avenue and North Street, and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of First Street, North Street, Stoddard Avenue, and the Berkshire Medical Center entrance.

Work also includes the construction of 5-foot bike lanes and 5-foot sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps.  

Last year, the City Council approved multiple orders for the state project: five orders of takings for intersection and signal improvements at First Street and North Street. 

The total amount identified for permanent and temporary takings is $397,200, with $200,000 allocated by the council and the additional monies coming from carryover Chapter 90 funding. The state Transportation Improvement Plan is paying for the project and the city is responsible for 20 percent of the design cost and rights-of-way takings.

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