Healthcare Workers at MidHudson Regional Hospital, Formerly St. Francis, Have a Union and a Collective Bargaining Agreement!
Nine hundred healthcare workers at MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie, members of the powerful healthcare workers union 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, have a new collective bargaining agreement--most of them for the first time. The workers voted for two days, on Friday, September 11 and Monday, September 14. The contract was ratified by an overwhelming majority of 1199SEIU members who have been fighting for this agreement for two years.
Union negotiating committee member and Patient Care Tech (PCT) Connie Ashe said, “This has been a long and sometimes tough road. Today, I believe what we accomplished is phenomenal. Our hospital is an old institution with a new name. Now, we are beginning a new culture where those of us who work here will have a say about working conditions and quality care. That is the most important thing about this contract to me – after all these years, a hundred years actually, because St. Francis has been around since 1914, the playing field will be level and workers will have a voice.”
1199SEIU Vice President Ana Vazquez said, “This contract sets the foundation so that the hospital’s dedicated workers can take care of themselves and their families, at the same time they care for others. There is something that everyone had in common during this struggle -- the desire to make MidHudson Regional a beacon of quality care for our community. Clearly, a big step in the right direction has been made.”
Highlights of the contract, which became effective upon ratification and expires on December 31, 2017 include:
• A legally binding grievance procedure that gives workers a voice at work and levels the playing field in cases of workplace problems;
• Language that provides job protection and employment security;
• Improved wages and a guaranteed 3% increase retroactive to January 1, 2015 as well as 3% increases on July 1 in 2016 and 2017;
• Improved and more affordable health benefits, with a contract reopener on January 1, 2017, specifically to address further improving health benefits;
• The 1199 Child Care Fund, which is especially helpful to working families;
• 1199 Training and Upgrading Fund, a critical resource in today’s rapidly changing healthcare industry.
Background: The hospital was still called St. Francis in 2013, when RNs, service workers and business office and clerical workers, in separate elections, voted to become 1199SEIU members. (Skilled maintenance workers had been union members for many years.) Soon after, the financially struggling hospital filed for bankruptcy. Now members of a union, the workers were represented by 1199SEIU in bankruptcy court on important issues such as money owed, pensions, and accruals.
The situation became more complex when Westchester Medical Center (WMC) acquired the hospital and renamed it MidHudson Regional. After many months, WMC recognized 1199SEIU as the sole representative of the four bargaining units. Negotiations finally began in late 2014. They were at times tumultuous -- an informational picket was held in May of this year.
Carol Hilbrandt, an RN in the Emergency Department said, “This is a relief. We have worked so hard to get to this point. The grievance process and the language that provides us with job security will make a big difference when it comes to a fair workplace.”
Nancy Stokes, a PCT at the hospital for 18 years said she still can’t believe it and she is wondering if she will wake up and it will all be a dream. “We did it. We have a contract. Everyone is protected. Everyone’s life is better in one way or another. And we now have the tools and resources to keep on the road to improvement.”
United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 400,000 nurses and caregivers throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.
Nine hundred healthcare workers at MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie, members of the powerful healthcare workers union 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, have a new collective bargaining agreement--most of them for the first time. The workers voted for two days, on Friday, September 11 and Monday, September 14. The contract was ratified by an overwhelming majority of 1199SEIU members who have been fighting for this agreement for two years.
Union negotiating committee member and Patient Care Tech (PCT) Connie Ashe said, “This has been a long and sometimes tough road. Today, I believe what we accomplished is phenomenal. Our hospital is an old institution with a new name. Now, we are beginning a new culture where those of us who work here will have a say about working conditions and quality care. That is the most important thing about this contract to me – after all these years, a hundred years actually, because St. Francis has been around since 1914, the playing field will be level and workers will have a voice.”
1199SEIU Vice President Ana Vazquez said, “This contract sets the foundation so that the hospital’s dedicated workers can take care of themselves and their families, at the same time they care for others. There is something that everyone had in common during this struggle -- the desire to make MidHudson Regional a beacon of quality care for our community. Clearly, a big step in the right direction has been made.”
Highlights of the contract, which became effective upon ratification and expires on December 31, 2017 include:
• A legally binding grievance procedure that gives workers a voice at work and levels the playing field in cases of workplace problems;
• Language that provides job protection and employment security;
• Improved wages and a guaranteed 3% increase retroactive to January 1, 2015 as well as 3% increases on July 1 in 2016 and 2017;
• Improved and more affordable health benefits, with a contract reopener on January 1, 2017, specifically to address further improving health benefits;
• The 1199 Child Care Fund, which is especially helpful to working families;
• 1199 Training and Upgrading Fund, a critical resource in today’s rapidly changing healthcare industry.
Background: The hospital was still called St. Francis in 2013, when RNs, service workers and business office and clerical workers, in separate elections, voted to become 1199SEIU members. (Skilled maintenance workers had been union members for many years.) Soon after, the financially struggling hospital filed for bankruptcy. Now members of a union, the workers were represented by 1199SEIU in bankruptcy court on important issues such as money owed, pensions, and accruals.
The situation became more complex when Westchester Medical Center (WMC) acquired the hospital and renamed it MidHudson Regional. After many months, WMC recognized 1199SEIU as the sole representative of the four bargaining units. Negotiations finally began in late 2014. They were at times tumultuous -- an informational picket was held in May of this year.
Carol Hilbrandt, an RN in the Emergency Department said, “This is a relief. We have worked so hard to get to this point. The grievance process and the language that provides us with job security will make a big difference when it comes to a fair workplace.”
Nancy Stokes, a PCT at the hospital for 18 years said she still can’t believe it and she is wondering if she will wake up and it will all be a dream. “We did it. We have a contract. Everyone is protected. Everyone’s life is better in one way or another. And we now have the tools and resources to keep on the road to improvement.”
United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 400,000 nurses and caregivers throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.
