Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The union nurses at St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown Township overwhelmingly approved a contract with medical system owner Trinity Health.
The five-year deal approved covers the roughly 800 nurses that are members of Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) and includes staffing guidelines designed to offer a better staff to patient ratio and “significant” wage increases that will help recruit and retain nurses. Over the course of the deal, nurses will see an 18 percent wage increase.
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The tentative deal that was reached in the pre-dawn hours of Friday morning was ratified by the union nurses on Saturday with 96 percent voting in favor, according to Sunday morning statements from both sides.
“Nurses and healthcare professionals have worked tirelessly and selflessly sacrificed during the COVID-19 pandemic at great personal risk to themselves, and they will continue to be called on to do so for many months to come,” said PASNAP President Maureen May, who is also a nurse. “With the resolution of this contract fight as the virus surge continues in Bucks County and the greater Philadelphia area, the needs of our dedicated frontline workers have been acknowledged and respected and their patient communities are further protected. We are thrilled.”
“We at St. Mary Medical Center believe this contract is good news for our nurses, colleagues and community. We look forward to working together to fulfill our shared mission to be a transforming and healing presence for those we serve,” said St. Mary Medical Center President Dr. Lawrence Brilliant.
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The agreement follows sometimes contentious negotiations that have been taking place since last year when the union was formed. The nurses went on strike in November.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
“After more than a year of negotiations, I’m excited to have this done, to have the contract ratified, and to move forward doing what we do best – caring for our patients, especially in this time of great need,” St. Mary Medical Center nurse Anne DeMille said.
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The nurses called for creating set staff to patient ratios at the hospital that has undergone staffing cuts under Trinity Health’s ownership in recent years despite earning more than $50 million in yearly profits.
PASNAP laid out the following overview of the new contract:
- Safe staffing – The new contract provides enforcement mechanisms to ensure that the hospital hires and schedules enough nurses to meet its staffing guidelines, and that the guidelines cannot be changed without prior discussion with the nurse union representatives. There will be a staffing committee of nurses from every unit that will meet with the hospital on a monthly basis and will monitor adherence to the guidelines on an ongoing basis. The hospital also agreed to restore the IV Team, which the nurses believe will help staffing and reduce the rate of hospital-acquired infections.
- Wages – The new contract remedies years of wage inequities by placing all St. Mary nurses on a wage scale based on years of nursing licensure. Nurses will be guaranteed annual across-the-board increases plus increases when they move to the next step on the wage scale, which is based on years of RN licensure. Nurses placed on the scale will see an average increase of 5% following ratification. In subsequent years, the scale will increase by 3 percent, 3 percent, 4 percent, and 3 percent for an overall increase of 18% over the life of the contract, not including step increases.
- Fair and Transparent Policies, Protections and A Continued Voice at Work – The contract includes numerous provisions that for the first time provide fair and transparent policies including self-scheduling, job bidding, just cause and just culture protections in cases of discipline, a neutral grievance procedure for enforcing the contract, health and safety protections, and a number of committees that will ensure nurses have an ongoing voice in decisions that affect them.
“There will be a transition period before contract provisions take effect, so that St. Mary leaders and other colleagues can take part in training around implementation of the provisions,” hospital officials said.
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St. Mary Medical Center is the largest hospital in Lower Bucks County and the only trauma center in the county.
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