Hospital and nurses to resume contract talks Friday

Submitted by tim on Thu, 07/05/2018 - 11:17

The nurses union, representing 1,800 nurses and 300 technical professionals, held a press conference Monday outside The UVM Medical Center. They announced a potential strike starting July 12. VBM photo.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Medical Center and the union representing its nurses,Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, have agreed to resume negotiations beginning Friday, July 6, with thefederal mediator, according to a press release issued Thursday by the hospital. The union notified the hospital on Monday that barring a settlement, the union will go on strike for 48 hours starting July 12 at 7am. Their contract expires July 9 and they have said they will otherwise work without a contract. The principal dispute is over staffing levels and wages. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) is also lending his support to the union effort.

“We’re very pleased to have an additional opportunity to meet with the union and hopefully avoid the disruption a strike would cause,” said Eileen Whalen, MHA, RN, president of the UVM Medical Center. “We are ready to meet at any time as we work to reach a fair agreement.”

Seven Days reports that the hospital is prepared to bring in hundreds of nurses to cover staffing in the event of a strike and is scrambling to find enough hotel rooms in the Burlington area. The union represents 1,800 nurses and 300 technicians.

The union is asking for a 24% wage increase over the 3-year contract. The UVM Medical Center stated that it has nearly doubled its wage offer in the past week to 13%, plus significant increases beyond that for nurses in certain roles.

"For example," the press release states, "because we agreed to wage parity between our inpatient and outpatient nurses starting on September 1 of this year, rather than phasing it in over three years, those nurses will see their wages increase between 10% and 26% two months from now. The resulting average salary for inpatient and outpatient nurses would be $84,000. Nurse Practitioners would make $119,000 on average under the UVM Medical Center’s proposal. All nurses receive a comprehensive and competitive benefits package worth more than 30% of base salary."

“We want our community to know if a strike occurs, we will be prepared to continue providing quality care to our patients and families with as little disruption as possible,” said Whalen. “The vast majority of patients would not see any impact from a work stoppage, and should keep their appointments on July 12 and 13.”

“Our community deserves both sides making every effort to successfully complete these talks as soon as possible,” Whalen added.

Meanwhile, Senator Sanders and members of the leadership of the Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals (VFNHP) will hold a press conference Friday at 2 pm to demand that the UVM Medical Center administration address the nursing crisis at the hospital.

Sanders said, “Nurses are the backbone of the UVM Medical Center. They work day and night to treat our family members and to keep our community healthy. Patient care suffers when these dedicated professionals are not treated with respect and do not receive adequate compensation.”

He, like the nurses, is pushing for a $15 an hour wage for those hospital workers (the nurses all make more) who are now below that level. The hospital already has plans to raise its minimum wage to $15 by 2020.