Bangor-based Eastern Maine Medical Center and the union that represents nurses there have reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract.
Here are three things to know about the tentative agreement and contract negotiations.
1. EMMC and the Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United have not been able to agree on a contract since the old contract expired May 30, according to the Bangor Daily News. The nurses were planning to strike on July 13 and 14.
2. Details of the tentative agreement were not disclosed. However, EMMC President and CEO Deborah Carey Johnson said in a news release the agreement was "the result of compromises on both sides."
"It is a responsible contract for the hospital and community and acknowledges our nurses' essential contribution to patient care," she added. "The agreement ensures we can remain focused on our greatest priority: providing high quality care to our patients."
3. EMMC's bargaining team will now present the tentative agreement to the EMMC board with a recommendation to ratify, and the union bargaining team will make a similar presentation to its members, according to the union.
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