New London — When Yale New Haven Health doles out bonuses to employees across its five-hospital system next week in appreciation of their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, some 1,700 union workers at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital won’t be among the recipients.

Leadership of AFT Connecticut, whose three L+M locals represent registered nurses, technical professionals and health care workers, rejected the bonuses, which the union says were only offered as an incentive to adopt Yale New Haven Health’s biweekly payroll system, a move that calls for formal negotiations. The bonuses were never presented as rewards for jobs well done, according to the union, and were never discussed with the locals’ membership.

The “All for One Award” bonuses — 1% of each employee’s earnings for hours worked between Dec. 8, 2019, and Dec. 5, 2020 — will show up in most Yale New Haven Health paychecks Thursday, Christmas Eve, including those of about 600 nonunion workers at L+M.

Vin Petrini, a Yale New Haven Health spokesman, said the health system approached the union at the end of November and asked it to consider moving employees to biweekly payroll.

“They declined without ever taking it to the membership and we have not heard back from them,” Petrini said. “We didn’t think it was that big an ask. ... We’re still prepared to do it (extend the bonuses to union members). I’m not sure we can get it done for next week, but we’re prepared to do it.”

An AFT spokesman, Matt O’Connor, said no COVID-19 bonus was presented to local union leadership and therefore nothing was ever presented to members to “ratify or reject.”

“Yale New Haven Health System executives’ claim that they ‘fairly negotiated’ with us over employee bonuses for sacrifice during the peak of the pandemic is simply untrue,” the union said in a statement. “What they’re not telling the workforce or the public is that they never presented any '1% All For One Award' for negotiation. Instead, they attempted to deceptively force payroll changes that singled out our members — and with strings attached."

“The reality is that this stunt is little more than a shameful attempt to undermine our unions. ... If what YNHHS’ executives are talking about is an incentive for treating patients during this crisis, there’s no reason to attach any strings or withhold it from any hospital employee,” it said.

In addition to the bonuses, employees will receive commemorative medallions, which were commissioned using donated funds, according to a communication from Yale New Haven Health’s top corporate executives. The medallion “symbolizes excellence, teamwork and the strong bonds created when people work together for a single purpose.”

Earlier this year, Yale New Haven Health paid all employees a COVID Recognition Award equal to 5% of their earnings from the first of the year through May 9. Salary increases of 2% were included in Dec. 10 paychecks.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com