Martha’s Vineyard Hospital Members Ratify Pact

January 16, 2014

Members at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital on Jan. 14 overwhelmingly approved a 2-year contract that provides between a 3 and 3 ½ percent increase for most members in each year of the pact.

Located on the island of the same name, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is owned by Partners HealthCare. 1199SEIU members provide quality healthcare services to the island’s year-round and seasonal communities, as well as island visitors.

“We work well with management and so we were able to get a fair contract,” says Gail Hines, a leader of the negotiating committee who works in the hospital’s patient account department. “We work hard and we expect management to recognize that.”

Hines added that Union members were united and on the same page. “The voter turnout was greater than usual,” she noted.

The 170 members at the institution also won other important gains, including:

• A 2 percent bonus in each year of the contract for members on the top step of the wage scale,

• Step movement for all members below the top scale,

• An improvement in the dental plan,

• A new retiree medical savings account which included an employer matching contribution,

• An improvement in on-call pay provisions.

The contract victory – which comes in an era of givebacks throughout the nation –inspired several new members to sign up for the Union’s Political Action Fund.

Bargaining committee members included Hines (patient accounts), Mary Filiault (respiratory), CJ Taylor (ER) and Jean Tattelbaum (dietary).