Labor & Employment Law

Nurses Celebrate Organizing Win Anniversary with New Contract

By Mike Hall

A year to the day after registered nurses at Rockville (Conn.) General Hospital voted overwhelmingly to form a union with AFT Connecticut they unanimously approved their first contract Dec. 16. Says RN Lynn DeYoung:

We have worked hard to get to this point.

The nurses began organizing in early 2009 and had an initial union vote in May 2009. That election was lost by one vote, and AFT Connecticut challenged aspects of the election. The National Labor Relations Board then ruled a new election should be held. That election took place Dec. 16, 2009, with the nurses voting overwhelmingly in favor of forming a union.

Last year after the vote, Sharon Thompson, an RN in The Birthplace, the hospital’s maternity department, said:

We want to partner with the hospital to help reduce cost, and as the frontline, we know places where we could save the hospital money, without cutting patient care staff or hours and putting patients at risk. Our union will give us the power to improve care for our patients and improve working conditions for our nurses.

Last week, Thompson noted it was a long process but

we made it and we are happy to be part of a great union.

The three-year contract includes a pro-rated ratification bonus along with a  wage increase of 3.25 percent immediately and an additional 3 percent in June. The contract includes a wage re-opener in 2012 and 2013.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on December 20, 2010 (boomark / email).