The new labor contract ratified last month by University of Chicago Medical Center nurses guarantees important staffing changes as well as a salary increase, according to the union representing the 2,220 nurses on staff.
Union officials said the four-year deal, ratified Nov. 27, ensures charge nurses in more than 20 units won't be assigned patients, allowing the charge nurse to serve in a support position in any emergency situation.
The agreement also stipulates that the medical center will add float nurses in clinic areas and includes one pay grid for all nurses, as well as pay increases from 11 percent to 22 percent for nurses.
In an all-staff memo, medical center leaders said the contract "reflects our collective commitment to our mission of serving patients and the community."
The National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United and medical center reached a tentative agreement in November. In light of the agreement, the union called off a one-day strike and pledged to release agreement details after the ratification vote.
Terri Collins, a registered nurse who works in the neonatal intensive care unit, said in a news release: "Management agreed to retain all 24 patient care support nurses who provide vital medical care throughout the hospital, to improve staffing in numerous intensive care units, and to add supplemental float team nurses to provide additional staffing assistance in clinics and procedural areas."
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