FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, July 8, 2014
CONTACT: Jim McNeill, 202.213.1614, Jim.McNeill@HardshipAtHopkins.org | Rae Rawls, 443.800.1551, Rae.Rawls@1199.org
- Contract includes raises as high as 38% for low-paid workers, a boost of as much as $4.30 an hour over the life of the contract
- Agreement immediately establishes $15-an-hour minimum wage for workers with 20+ years, and a $14.50/hour minimum in 2015 for workers with 15+ years
- Raises at Hopkins, Baltimore’s largest healthcare employer, will set a higher standard for workers all across the city
- Union members at Hopkins will hold ratification vote Thursday and Friday, July 10 and 11
BALTIMORE — Early Tuesday morning, 2,000 caregivers at Johns Hopkins Hospital reached a tentative agreement with management on a new contract. The four-and-a-half year agreement would dramatically improve pay for low-wage workers at Hopkins.
Low-paid employees at Hopkins would receive raises as high as 38 percent over the life of the contract. The Hopkins workers — members of Eleven Ninety-Nine S.E.I.U. — also won a $15-an-hour minimum wage that will apply immediately to workers with 20 years of service. Workers with 15 years of service will make at least $14.50 in 2015.
“This is an important victory for patients and workers all across Baltimore,” said John Reid, executive vice president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East for the Maryland/DC region. “Johns Hopkins Hospital sets the standard for healthcare in our city and that standard has just been raised.”
Highlights of the agreement include:
• Total raises as high as 38 percent for long-time, low-paid Hopkins workers, a boost of as much as $4.30 an hour over the life of the contract.
• A $14.50 minimum wage in 2015 for workers with 15 years’ experience, whose pay will rise to over $15 an hour in 2017. Current workers will make at least $13/hour by 2018.
• Across-the-board raises of at least 2% every year, with a 2% raise and a 0.5% bonus in the first year of the contract, and a 2.75% raise in 2017.
• An agreement to establish a committee to review market rates for surgical techs, pharmacy techs and other workers whose pay is under market.
The tentative agreement represents a significant improvement over what Hopkins management had called its last, best and final wage offer in early April. Hopkins workers mounted an intense contract campaign once bargaining began on March 4.
The Hopkins caregivers held a three-day strike in April, a mass rally in the Inner Harbor in May, and scheduled a four-day strike in late June. The second strike was called off after Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley intervened on the eve of the walkout and asked both parties to agree to a one-week cooling-off period.
The parties held two more bargaining sessions after O’Malley’s request, and reached the tentative agreement at roughly 2 a.m. on Tuesday. Hopkins members will hold a contract ratification vote on Thursday and Friday, July 10 and 11.
With over 400,000 caregivers, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. Almost 10,000 caregivers in Maryland and D.C. are united in 1199SEIU. Together, they work to ensure quality care and good jobs for all.
CONTACT: Jim McNeill, 202.213.1614, Jim.McNeill@HardshipAtHopkins.org | Rae Rawls, 443.800.1551, Rae.Rawls@1199.org
- Contract includes raises as high as 38% for low-paid workers, a boost of as much as $4.30 an hour over the life of the contract
- Agreement immediately establishes $15-an-hour minimum wage for workers with 20+ years, and a $14.50/hour minimum in 2015 for workers with 15+ years
- Raises at Hopkins, Baltimore’s largest healthcare employer, will set a higher standard for workers all across the city
- Union members at Hopkins will hold ratification vote Thursday and Friday, July 10 and 11
BALTIMORE — Early Tuesday morning, 2,000 caregivers at Johns Hopkins Hospital reached a tentative agreement with management on a new contract. The four-and-a-half year agreement would dramatically improve pay for low-wage workers at Hopkins.
Low-paid employees at Hopkins would receive raises as high as 38 percent over the life of the contract. The Hopkins workers — members of Eleven Ninety-Nine S.E.I.U. — also won a $15-an-hour minimum wage that will apply immediately to workers with 20 years of service. Workers with 15 years of service will make at least $14.50 in 2015.
“This is an important victory for patients and workers all across Baltimore,” said John Reid, executive vice president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East for the Maryland/DC region. “Johns Hopkins Hospital sets the standard for healthcare in our city and that standard has just been raised.”
Highlights of the agreement include:
• Total raises as high as 38 percent for long-time, low-paid Hopkins workers, a boost of as much as $4.30 an hour over the life of the contract.
• A $14.50 minimum wage in 2015 for workers with 15 years’ experience, whose pay will rise to over $15 an hour in 2017. Current workers will make at least $13/hour by 2018.
• Across-the-board raises of at least 2% every year, with a 2% raise and a 0.5% bonus in the first year of the contract, and a 2.75% raise in 2017.
• An agreement to establish a committee to review market rates for surgical techs, pharmacy techs and other workers whose pay is under market.
The tentative agreement represents a significant improvement over what Hopkins management had called its last, best and final wage offer in early April. Hopkins workers mounted an intense contract campaign once bargaining began on March 4.
The Hopkins caregivers held a three-day strike in April, a mass rally in the Inner Harbor in May, and scheduled a four-day strike in late June. The second strike was called off after Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley intervened on the eve of the walkout and asked both parties to agree to a one-week cooling-off period.
The parties held two more bargaining sessions after O’Malley’s request, and reached the tentative agreement at roughly 2 a.m. on Tuesday. Hopkins members will hold a contract ratification vote on Thursday and Friday, July 10 and 11.
With over 400,000 caregivers, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. Almost 10,000 caregivers in Maryland and D.C. are united in 1199SEIU. Together, they work to ensure quality care and good jobs for all.
