Nurses and Healthcare Professionals at Hudson Regional Hospital Ratify New Three-Year Contract
After years of disputes with the prior owners, nurses and health professionals have ratified a three-year contract with the new owners of Hudson Regional Hospital. In 2017, NJMHMC, LLC. purchased the hospital after receiving approvals from NJ regulators. The union, HPAE Local 5147, representing 300 healthcare professionals began bargaining with hospital administrators shortly after the new owners took over operations in January 2018. A tentative agreement was reached on Wednesday, June 27 and HPAE members voted in favor of ratifying the agreement on Thursday, June 28.
“This contract represents a new day for the nurses and health professionals who will receive long overdue wage increases, financial incentives to help recruit and retain staff and health insurance benefits that will give healthcare workers greater access to providers,” said Ann Twomey, President.
The contract includes across the board increases for nurses, health professionals, technicians and service workers:
- 2.5 % retro-active to January 1, 2018
- 2% on January 1, 2019
- 2% on January 1, 2020.
In addition, employees who have not received any step increase since June 1, 2016 and were hired prior to March 1, 2017 will receive a one-time bonus of $750 for full time employees and $375 for part time employees.
“These negotiations gave healthcare workers an opportunity to hit reset and actually bargain with an employer who was willing to negotiate in good faith with their employees. With new ownership our priority has been to move forward to focus on providing safe patient care and giving health professionals the protections they need to advocate for their patients,” added Twomey.
The contract will allow for the reestablishment of joint labor-management committees to address short staffing, health and safety concerns and working conditions.
During the early morning hours of June 30, HPAE Local 5185 at Bayonne Medical Center and HPAE Local 5186 at Christ Hospital reached a tentative agreement with CarePoint Health.