Nurses at Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center Hospital have reached their first contract with the New York State Nurses Association, according to hospital and union statements.
Nurses approved the agreement after three years of negotiations, a strike in December over working conditions, and a settlement with the New York State attorney general's office over a "repayment fee" provision in employment contracts of nurses. Voting was verified July 1.
"I'm feeling elated. Having a voice is the most important thing. Our union is the nurses of Albany Medical Center. It is us standing together, speaking up for each other and speaking up for our patients and the care we provide for the community," Lenore Granich, RN, a member of the union negotiating committee at Albany Med, said in a news release.
Under the agreement, nurses are guaranteed 1.5 percent annual raises with up to an extra 1.5 percent merit-based pay bump annually, according to the hospital. Albany Med said it will also implement market adjustments it previously proposed, meaning nurses' wage rates would rise by $2.30 per hour for an average of $4,784 annually.
Additionally, the agreement limits the increase of health insurance costs, and it includes higher pay for weekend and shift differentials, increased reimbursement for continuing education and tuition reimbursement, and individual choice for union membership.
Albany Med President and CEO Dennis McKenna, MD, said in a news release: "The choice to be a union member is entirely that of each nurse. If a nurse signed a union membership card in the past, they will be required to decide if they wish to be in the union or choose not to. The only difference is that members of the union will pay dues. Nurses who chose not to be union members will not pay dues. We respect all our nurses, and we respect their rights."
The union said a staffing grid that outlines safe staffing numbers for each unit and shift is also part of the agreement, and nurses will have more input from nurses in work roles, including regular scheduling and defined breaks, limitations on floating and limitations on performing non-nursing functions.
Albany Med is an academic medical center with 766 beds.