Making Them Highest Paid Nurses in New England
The registered nurses represented by the MNA at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute voted to ratify a new three-year contract that provides wage increases of 9 to 23 percent, which will make them the highest paid nurses in New England, if not the nation. It also includes new contract language designed to protect nurses’ union rights.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement that recognizes the value of registered nurses and the vital role we play in delivering fi rst-rate care to the patients at Dana-Farber,” said Kathleen McDermott, RN, a staff nurse at the hospital and chair of the nurses’ local bargaining unit.
The three-year agreement runs from April 17, 2007 to April 17, 2010. The pact includes the following key provisions:
- Salary increases: Provides an 8 percent salary increase across the board (2 percent for 2007; 3 percent in 2008 and 3 percent in 2009). It also provides a new top step to the nurses’ salary scale, which means nurses’ pay will increase between 9 and 23 percent over the life of the agreement depending on years of service. The starting hourly wage at the end of the contract will be $29.57 up from $27.32 with a top wage step of $67.78 up from $59.64.
- Protection of union rights: The nurses won contract language that protects union rights for nurses at the facility and their ability ability to advocate for patients. The language prevents the hospital from exploiting a recent controversial ruling by the National Labor Relations Board, which found that charge nurses (nurses who oversee the flow of patients on a floor) or nurses who perform charge duties may be classified as supervisors, and are thereby ineligible for union membership. The new language clearly recognizes the union rights of all nurses in the union.
The Dana-Farber nurses began negotiations on the new contract on Feb. 21, with a tentative agreement reached on April 4. There were just five negotiating sessions needed to reach an agreement.
