Local 5118 May 29 Negotiations Update and Tentative Agreements

The Tentative Agreements included are for 11.2 Clinical Groupings, 36.3 Committees and Side Letter 4 MIU RN’s.

During the morning session the hospital gave us the tentative agreements we discussed at our last session. We reviewed across the table which of our articles are still open and that we will give them a package proposal after lunch.
We spent a great deal of time answering questions and talking with the nurses who attended negotiations this morning. We asked the nurses what is more important to them in regard to the retention bonus Vs trying to get higher increases the second and third years of a new contract. The nurses were in agreement that higher raises would out weigh a one time retention bonus.

Our counter proposal included:

• Wages: Year 1. $3 wage adjustment, 1% or greater step increases, 3.50% across the board, 32 year plus RN’s adjustment (will have the highest hourly rate based on the rates on the scale. The average increase the first year is between 10 and 14% depending on your current hourly rate.
  Year 2. 5% plus the 1% or greater yearly step increase.
  Year 3: 5% plus the 1% or greater yearly step increase.
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• We would drop the retention bonus.
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• Staffing: Held to our initial proposal of 1:4 for med surg, oncology and telemetry. 1:3 for Adult Surgical Intermediate units.
• Health Insurance: Would accept their Health Insurance proposal.
• Included our initial proposals related to: Articles Call 20.2 Paragraph 5, Shift Differential Article 10.1 c and Article 8 Agency and Traveler language.
• If they agree to our package we would agree to their proposal to bring new to practice nurses in at Step 2 on the wage step scale.

When you make a package proposal, it is all or nothing. Cooper told us they have their money crunchers crunching the numbers we gave them in our package proposal.They also told us that they are close to their end and that they more than likely give us their final proposal tomorrow. At that point we agreed to reconvene on Thursday.

Next bargaining session: Thursday, May 30.

Contract expires May 31st at midnight.

In Solidarity –

Your Negotiating Committee