National Nurses United

MASSACHUSETTS T he nurses of Baystate Franklin Medical Center in February unan- imously ratified a new contract, following the negotiation of a tentative agreement that averted a scheduled one-day strike. The pact provides protections the nurses had sought to prevent the use of mandatory overtime as an alterna- tive to providing safe staffing at the hospital. It also includes improvements to the nurses' health insurance benefit and will grant the nurses pay raises. The new contract covers five years, and expires on Dec. 31, 2016. "We are thrilled to announce the ratifica- tion of a new contract that will provide the protections we need to ensure our patients receive the care they have come to expect from the nurses at Baystate Franklin Medical Center," said Linda Judd, a long- time RN at the hospital and co-chair of the Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United local bargaining unit at the facility. "This is an agreement where everybody wins: our patients, our nurses, our employer, and our community." Some of the major highlights of the contract include resolution of disputes over overtime issues. Baystate withdrew its proposal to eliminate "daily overtime." Baystate's call for this concession, where they would pay overtime only after 40 hours worked, was the key sticking point in the talks. Instead, the parties agreed to main- tain the nurses' current benefit, with the addition of a one-hour grace period for daily overtime. This means that any work performed beyond one hour after the end of a nurse's scheduled shift triggers payment of time-and-one-half back to the end of the nurse's scheduled shift. In all cases, nurses have the protected right to refuse to work overtime if they feel this would jeopardize the care of their patients. Baystate has agreed to clear language in the contract obligating it to fully comply with the Massachusetts state law banning mandatory overtime. This law prohibits hospitals from using the dangerous practice of mandatory overtime as an alternative to providing safe staffing and guarantees that no nurse can be required to work beyond their scheduled shift. The hospital had previously refused to provide a contractual guarantee to adhere to the law which, in combination with its demand for a concession on overtime pay, led the nurses to make a stand and strike over this impor- tant patient safety issue. Nurses also won improvements in their salary and benefits. Baystate will now pay 75 percent, a 5 percent increase, of family health insurance premiums. Nurses will also receive a 4 percent across-the-board raise for 2014 and an additional 1 percent across-the- board pay hike each year in 2015 and 2016. In addition, nurses will receive bonuses upon ratification of the agreement of $2,000 for nurses who work 36 hours or more; $1,500 for nurses who work 24 hours or more; and $1,000 for nurses who work fewer than 24 hours per week. —David Schildmeier M A R C H 2 0 1 4 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 5 Baystate nurses win new contract, important overtime protections Donna Stern, RN and cochair of the Baystate Franklin Medical Center bargaining unit, announces the agreement to the media

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