The following is a roundup of recent events pertaining to hospital-union relationships, including strikes, legal battles, rallies and new contract agreements. All events were reported since Sept. 1.
1. Select Specialty Hospital nurses rally for first contract
Nurses at Select Specialty Hospital - Erie (Pa.) rallied Saturday for contract negotiations, according to WJET-TV. The nurses, represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, are seeking their first contract, the report states. They have worked without a contract since unionizing in 2012.
2. Allina nurses head back to picket lines after rejecting contract offer
Striking Allina Health nurses voted Monday to reject a contract offer from their Minneapolis-based employer, thereby extending their open-ended walkout, reports the Star Tribune. More than 4,000 nurses began the walkout on Labor Day.
3. New labor contract for Hazel Hawkins Memorial nurses includes raise
Nurses at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister, Calif., ratified a new four-year labor contract, according to BenitoLink. The contract, which covers 120 registered nurses at Hazel Hawkins, includes a 9 percent raise over the life of the agreement, according to the California Nurses Association, which represents the workers.
4. Hahnemann University Hospital nurses picket over staffing levels
Roughly 50 nurses at Philadelphia-based Hahnemann University Hospital picketed Friday, calling for improved staffing levels at area hospitals, according to a Philadelphia Business Journal report. The nurses, represented by the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses & Allied Professionals, want a patient-to-nurse ratio of 3 to 1.
5. NLRB issues labor complaint against CHS
The National Labor Relations Board Office of General Counsel has decided to move forward with a consolidated labor complaint against Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, as well as the hospital operator's 38-hospital spinoff, Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health Corp., according to a National Nurses United release. The complaint, issued by the NLRB earlier this week, consolidates 11 charges, covering 50 alleged unfair labor practices, filed against CHS, and five hospitals staffed by registered nurses affiliated with National Nurses United, the union said.
6. SSM Health and Saint Louis University Hospital nurses reach labor agreement
Nurses at Saint Louis University Hospital have approved their first labor agreement with St. Louis-based SSM Health, according to St. Louis Public Radio. The new three-year agreement calls for an average pay increase of 12 percent and increases nurses' retirement matching incentives, Marchelle Vernell Bettis, a registered nurse and a member of the bargaining unit, said in the report.
7. Workers at 3 Catholic Health hospitals approve labor contracts
Workers across three hospitals have approved union contracts with the Buffalo, N.Y.-based Catholic Health, reports Buffalo Business First. Kenmore (N.Y.) Mercy Hospital workers approved a three-year contract that covers 95 technical workers, according to the article. Additionally, 200 registered nurses at Sisters of Charity Hospital's St. Joseph Campus in Cheektowaga, N.Y., also ratified a new contract; while registered nurses and service, technical and clerical associates at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo ratified two new contracts, the article states. Workers at all three hospitals are represented by Communications Workers of America.
8. Mayo workers hold second rally over food vendor change
Food service workers at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic rallied in protest against Mayo's plans to subcontract food service employees, according to a Post-Bulletin report. Leaders with Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota, a union representing food service workers at Mayo, and supporters also participated in the rally.
9. Nurses file unfair labor charge against Steward Health Care
Registered nurses at Steward Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, Mass., filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging the hospital has failed and refused to provide information nurses need to begin bargaining a new union contract, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The union, which represents nurses and other health professionals at eight hospitals owned by Boston-based Steward Health Care, including Holy Family Hospital campuses in Methuen and Haverhill, Mass., said the charge stems from an initial information request sent to Steward May 19. The request, they said, called on Steward to provide various legally required information, including a listing of all nurses with wage, hour and seniority data, health insurance data and information on the use of temporary/casual nurses.
10. Eagleville Hospital reaches new contract agreement with nurses, techs
A two-year deal was reached between Eagleville (Pa.) Hospital and its registered nurses and mental health technicians, reports Philadelphia Business Journal. The 90 RNs and 80 mental health techs, represented by the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, have been in negotiations with Eagleville Hospital for roughly 10 months.
11. Great River Medical Center nurses, hospital reach contract agreement
Nurses at West Burlington, Iowa-based Great River Medical Center, represented by Communications Workers of America Local 7181, voted to accept a three-year contract agreement with the hospital, reports The Hawk Eye. The contract includes a 5.5 percent wage increase for the duration of the contract; new language related to funeral pay; a 1 percent increase in retirement each year; new vacation language; a choice of multiple insurance plans; and hourly holiday pay for Memorial Day and Labor Day, according to the article.
12. Seattle Children's nurses picket for wages, benefits
In the midst of contract negotiations, registered nurses at Seattle Children's Hospital held an informational picket for wages, benefits and paid family leave, according to a KOMO NEWS report. Seattle Children's contract with the Washington State Nursing Association expired July 31, KOMO reported.
13. New contract approved for Essentia nurses
Nurses at Essentia hospitals in Duluth, Minn., and Superior, Wis., ratified a new three-year contract, according to a Workday Minnesota report. The workers, represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association, are employed at Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth, Essentia Health-Duluth and Essentia Health-St. Mary's Hospital-Superior. The new contract includes measures to improve staffing levels, address workplace violence and offset financial changes in health insurance, the union said in the article.
14. Wage, staffing issues prompt Butler workers to rally against Care New England
Employees at Butler Hospital in Providence, R.I., protested Thursday against their employer, Care New England, over wages, staffing and time off, according to NBC 10 News. The workers, which include nurses, housekeepers, medical record keepers and call center staff, are represented by Service Employees International Union Healthcare 1199 NE.
15. Nathan Littauer Hospital nurses ratify union contract
Nurses at Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville, N.Y., have ratified a new contract with hospital management, according to the New York State Nurses Association. The new contract, which replaces one that expired almost three years ago, will run through the end of 2020. It includes the creation of a nurse resource team to address staffing, as well as a wage increase of more than 8.5 percent and healthcare and pension changes, the union said.
16. Nurses at 2 NY hospitals ratify new contracts
Nurses at Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, N.Y., and St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica, N.Y., ratified new contracts with hospital management, according to the New York State Nurses Association. The union, which represents the nurses, said the new contract includes five additional full-time employees, among other staffing initiatives. It also includes wage increases totaling 9 percent over the life of the contract, and replaces the nurses' base health insurance plan "with a superior health plan at a reduced cost," according to the NYSNA.
More articles on human capital and risk:
New labor contract for Hazel Hawkins Memorial nurses includes raise
Striking nurses revamp voting method for Monday’s decision on Allina’s latest offer
Hahnemann University Hospital nurses picket over staffing levels