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New York Nurse Strike Ends with Pacesetting Pact
Local 1168 nurses ratified a three-year contract with substantial wage hikes in late April, ending a 21-day strike at St. Joseph Hospital in Cheektowaga, N.Y., near Buffalo.
The April 26 vote was 124-21. The unit of 170 nurses began returning to work the following Monday.
The pact brings registered nurses in the RN1 title wage increases of 5 percent immediately, 5 percent on June 23, 2002 and 4 percent on July 27, 2003. RN2s will receive raises of 5 percent, 4 percent and 4 percent effective the same dates.
“These wages are the highest in the Catholic Health System and will raise the bar for our nurses at Mercy and other hospitals,” said Upstate N.Y.-New England Director Dave Palmer, who chaired bargaining. In addition, the pact establishes limits on mandatory overtime of six hours in a day and eight hours in a pay period.
Patty DeVinney, president of CWA Local 1168/Nurses United, said a major sticking point in bargaining was the hospital’s demand to shift all employees into its lowest paying health plan. Also, nurses with families and small children were being required to work unlimited overtime, often double shifts.
The nurses went on strike April 6 after voting to reject management’s final offer, DeVinney said. The hospital brought in the Littler, Mendelson law firm as consultants and paid as much as $5,000 per week plus travel and lodging for replacement nurses brought in from Denver, Colo., by U.S. Nursing Corp.
“Their goal was to bust us and they thought the nurses would fall apart immediately, but they didn’t,” DeVinney said. “The entire nursing community was watching this very closely. I think management was trying to bust the entire union structure in the Catholic Health System.”
CHS owns several hospitals within Erie County. The contract for 527 registered nurses represented by Local 1133 at CHS Mercy Hospital expires June 3, DeVinney said. Local 1133 contracts also expire next year for 172 registered nurses at Kenmore Mercy Hospital and for 1,600 service, clerical and technical employees at Mercy Hospital.
The raises at St. Joseph — as much as 3 percent above the average for the region — more than offset cost-shifting on health plans and the switch to a voluntary dental plan, DeVinney said.
The new contract also makes nurses eligible for discounts on inpatient care at all CHS hospitals and in some cases a waiver on deductibles, said Local 1168 Vice President Sharon Schultz, a member of the bargaining committee.
Under terms of the agreement, all strikers will be returned to their regular jobs with no discipline for strike activity and no interruption in seniority.
The April 26 vote was 124-21. The unit of 170 nurses began returning to work the following Monday.
The pact brings registered nurses in the RN1 title wage increases of 5 percent immediately, 5 percent on June 23, 2002 and 4 percent on July 27, 2003. RN2s will receive raises of 5 percent, 4 percent and 4 percent effective the same dates.
“These wages are the highest in the Catholic Health System and will raise the bar for our nurses at Mercy and other hospitals,” said Upstate N.Y.-New England Director Dave Palmer, who chaired bargaining. In addition, the pact establishes limits on mandatory overtime of six hours in a day and eight hours in a pay period.
Patty DeVinney, president of CWA Local 1168/Nurses United, said a major sticking point in bargaining was the hospital’s demand to shift all employees into its lowest paying health plan. Also, nurses with families and small children were being required to work unlimited overtime, often double shifts.
The nurses went on strike April 6 after voting to reject management’s final offer, DeVinney said. The hospital brought in the Littler, Mendelson law firm as consultants and paid as much as $5,000 per week plus travel and lodging for replacement nurses brought in from Denver, Colo., by U.S. Nursing Corp.
“Their goal was to bust us and they thought the nurses would fall apart immediately, but they didn’t,” DeVinney said. “The entire nursing community was watching this very closely. I think management was trying to bust the entire union structure in the Catholic Health System.”
CHS owns several hospitals within Erie County. The contract for 527 registered nurses represented by Local 1133 at CHS Mercy Hospital expires June 3, DeVinney said. Local 1133 contracts also expire next year for 172 registered nurses at Kenmore Mercy Hospital and for 1,600 service, clerical and technical employees at Mercy Hospital.
The raises at St. Joseph — as much as 3 percent above the average for the region — more than offset cost-shifting on health plans and the switch to a voluntary dental plan, DeVinney said.
The new contract also makes nurses eligible for discounts on inpatient care at all CHS hospitals and in some cases a waiver on deductibles, said Local 1168 Vice President Sharon Schultz, a member of the bargaining committee.
Under terms of the agreement, all strikers will be returned to their regular jobs with no discipline for strike activity and no interruption in seniority.