Nurses at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital reached an agreement with management last month on a new union contract, staving off the chance of a one-day nurses’ strike that had previously been authorized.
The two parties settled contract negotiations in November and the union voted on Dec. 5 to ratify the contract, which includes pay raises and changes to the union’s insurance. Laura Hilliard, a registered nurse at the hospital and the chair of the bargaining unit, said the nurses were pushing for change to make it easier for nurses to stay long-term at the hospital.
“The bargaining unit was looking to improve recruitment and retention,” Ms. Hilliard said Tuesday. “Before this contract, we had some nurses who were leaving because professional nurses could make better money landscaping.”
The new contract, ratified with a 59-4 vote, gives the nurses an approximately 30 per cent raise over the three-year agreement. Ms. Hilliard said the union had been noticing more and more temporary and traveling nurses being brought in to fill gaps at the hospital.
Nursing negotiating committee, left to right: Sarah Shannon, Courtney Campbell, Molly Nickowal, Jennifer Wojtkielo, Laura Hilliard, Heather La Marque, Sandy Ciciora, and Lilly Schott.
— Courtesy of Laura Hilliard
According to Ms. Hilliard, while those nurses are all well-trained and devoted to their work, they don’t have the same connection to the Island, and permanent nurses would have to constantly be working to get them up to speed.
The raise would help keep staff working at the Island’s lone hospital in the face of the Vineyard’s high housing costs.
“We all know housing is a problem on the Island; cost of living is expensive and we were trying to do our best to offset that,” Ms. Hilliard said.
The nursing union voted in October to authorize a one-day strike, saying the hospital had refused to invest in permanent nurses. The strike never came to pass and hospital officials said they were glad a settlement could be reached.
“We are extremely gratified to have reached an agreement with the Massachusetts Nursing Association for a new contract that reflects the incredible care our nurses provide to our patients as well as their tremendous contributions to our Martha’s Vineyard Hospital community,” said Claire Seguin chief nurse and vice president of operations at the hospital. “Our nurses are the heart of our organization, and we are so grateful for all they do for our patients and each other.”
Negotiations started in March, when the old contract ended and there were 14 bargaining sessions in the subsequent eight months. A federal mediator was brought in toward the end to seal the deal, according to Ms. Hilliard.
The approximately 35 ambulatory nurses who joined the nursing union in July were also part of the negotiations and they earned raises ranging from 30 per cent to 54 per cent to make up for prior lower salaries.
Ms. Hilliard emphasized that the nurses have a good working relationship with the hospital, which is part of the Mass General Brigham hospital group.
“We have a good working relationship with management,” she said. “It’s important to both of us.”
