Tens of thousands healthcare workers at facilities owned by San Francisco-based Dignity Health ratified a new labor deal with management, according to a union news release.
The five-year contract covers roughly 15,000 Dignity Health workers represented by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West. It "protect[s] jobs and patient care" ahead of Dignity Health's proposed merger with Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives, said union officials.
Specifically, the contract maintains fully-paid, employer-provided family healthcare and includes 13 percent raises for the workers over the course of the agreement. Union officials said it also includes a 1 percent bonus in the second year of the contract, keeps workers' defined benefit pension and calls for Dignity Health to contribute an additional $500,000 annually to a joint labor-management training program.
Darryl Robinson, executive vice president and chief human resources officer for Dignity Health, praised the contract in a statement to Becker's Hospital Review.
"In addition to annual wage increases ranging from 2 to 3 percent over five years, there will not be any changes to cost sharing of dependent healthcare coverage for these employees," the statement reads. "This agreement honors our commitment to our employees while acknowledging the significant challenges Dignity Health and employers everywhere in the U.S. face with the increasing cost of healthcare."
The contract expires April 30, 2023.
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