What the Union is Advocating For
Fight for a $5,000 Across-the-Board Yearly Raise
The United Workers of Integral Care are advocating for a $5,000 across-the-board yearly raise for all staff. This critical increase addresses the rising cost of living in Austin, helps fill unstaffed positions caused by low wages, and alleviates employee burnout, ensuring high-quality care for our clients.
Due to the structure of funding that Integral Care receives, it is crucial to engage not only with the Executive Management Team but also to lobby and advocate at the city, county, and state levels for a better funding structure for Local Mental Health Authorities across the state. Unlike other public entities that receive a steady stream of tax-based funding, Integral Care relies on grants and contracts, which can run out and come with restrictive stipulations. This funding model creates financial uncertainty, making it difficult to ensure job security and promise raises. Employees face the risk of layoffs every year, and there is no guarantee that Integral Care will avoid deficits.
Join us in supporting fair wages and a sustainable future for our dedicated workforce. Together, we can create a stronger, more resilient Integral Care community.
The Employee Ombudsman and the Just Cause Petition
The United Workers of Integral Care (UWIC) has created a petition to advocate changing our employment status from “At Will” to “Just Cause”. Currently, as “At Will” employees, we have no protections to ensure that we are not fired without cause. With “Just Cause” employment status as a policy, we would be protected from any form of manager retribution or unjust firing. HR has stated that they feel they would not fire an employee for any unjust reasons, so the Union asks “Why do you not make it a written policy?”, to which they have no good answer. We can be fired without any kind of due process, transparency, or even an explanation. This at-will status creates a workplace culture where potential whistleblower employees are often afraid to raise concerns or speak out because we have little protection against retaliation.
We are also asking for an Employee Ombudsman to be an unbiased party in employee disputes, as HR has proven to not protect employee rights and has shown to be more concerned with protecting managers than creating a safe, non-toxic work environment. Having an Employee Ombudsperson that would report directly to the Board would give us access to an unbiased decision-maker, outside the regular chain of supervision, who could resolve disputes over personnel issues and work-related grievances.
As public servants and government employees, we deserve the same rights and protections afforded other public servants in Central Texas. State government employees at the Austin State Hospital, Austin State Supported Living Center, City of Austin employees, and Travis County employees are all employed “for cause,”. They also can appeal grievances and personnel disputes to an independent decision-maker outside their regular chain of supervision. We are only asking for the same rights.
Integral Care Employees can sign the petition here: https://s.alchemer.com/s3/UWIC-CWA-Just-Cause-Petition
Unpaid leave for Union work
UWIC is currently asking the Integral Care Board of Trustees to create an unpaid leave policy for Union work. This leave policy would be similar to other public employee unions in Austin including the Austin EMS Association. This unpaid leave policy would allow Union members and members of UWIC Steering Committee the time to do important work that is necessary to grow our union while also maintaining work-life balance. We are currently forced to wait until after the working day is over to engage in union activities or use our vacation time. The work that members do for the Union, is good for Integral Care as a whole and should be recognized as such. To not adopt this policy, is to restrict member’s ability to engage in self-care and increases the risk of burnout.
Parental Leave
UWIC is asking the Board of Integral Care to adopt a parental leave policy for employees. Currently, there is no specific policy for employees who have become parents. After an employee's paid time off and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time is exhausted they are asked to “separate from the agency”, which means that they are fired. So, if the employee still needs time to take care of their newborn they have to choose between taking care of their child or losing their livelihood. This stands in opposition to the motto of Integral Care which is “Healthy Living for Everyone,”. UWIC feels that not having a parental leave policy is unacceptable and is not only detrimental to employees and their families but also to the organization itself. Often, employees who are becoming new parents or are planning to become new parents will leave the agency for an organization that does have benefits such as parental leave, and this contributes to Integral Care’s continued struggle with understaffing and high turnover rates.
Telehealth Optimization Project
Earlier this summer, UWIC was involved in advocating for providing clients accessibility to access services through alternative means such as telehealth. Some of the concerns we raised were that some clients in the community struggle to access face-to-face services for reasons such as disability, social anxiety, agoraphobia, and/or lack of transportation. Through our advocacy efforts at ICCC meetings, we managed to push Integral Care to conduct their 2024 Telehealth Optimization Project. The results of the survey were presented at the July Board of Trustees meeting. There were 560 fewer responses compared to the 2019 telehealth survey. Other findings included significant increases in cell phone and computer access for Integral Care Clients compared to 2019. There was a reported 60% preference for in-person services compared to a 40% preference from 2019. 75% of respondents reported only receiving face-to-face services. The determination was that, when possible, clients would be fully informed of their right to access services remotely if they choose to.