Greenfield, Mass.-based Baystate Franklin Medical Center has reached a tentative contract agreement with nurses after two strikes and more than a year of negotiations.
Here are four things to know about the May 23 deal:
1. The tentative five-year agreement, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2017, covers about 200 Baystate Franklin nurses represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association.
2. It addresses wages, staffing and benefits, among other issues. Under the agreement, nurses will receive 50 cents per hour for every hour paid last year and through the first full pay period after nurses ratify the agreement, according to the union. The contract also includes a 2.5 percent across-the-board raise the first full pay period after ratification, as well as other pay increases over the life of the contract. Other parts of the agreement include reinstatement of the Silver health insurance plan for nurses; the assignment of a charge/admission nurse in the mental health unit at all times; the creation of a new nurse float pool; language related to workplace violence prevention; and no patient assignment for charge nurses in the operating room.
3. Both sides were pleased with the labor deal. Baystate Franklin said the tentative agreement "continues to provide market-competitive wages, benefits and health insurance" in a statement to Becker's Hospital Review. The hospital also said it "positively supports the healthcare needs of our community," and expressed gratitude for team members' efforts during negotiations. Donna Stern, RN and senior co-chair of the Baystate Franklin MNA Bargaining Committee, called the agreement "a huge victory for Baystate Franklin patients, nurses and our entire community. The ultimate credit for this settlement goes to our 200 unified nurses and the Franklin County residents who joined with us."
4. The agreement, which must be ratified by the nurses, comes after 18 months of negotiations. Negotiations were contentious at times, with nurses going on strike in June and April.
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