From the Massachusetts Nurse Newsletter
June 2009 Edition
Tufts Medical Center
On June 9, the MNA nurses at Tufts Medical Center voted to approve a two-year, two-month contract with the hospital. After negotiating 25 sessions over the past eight months, and culminating with a 22-hour marathon negotiation session that included the help of a federal mediator, they came to an agreement on a settlement package that met many of the issues the members said were most important.
| Negotiating committee members at Tufts Medical Center with the new contract. From left, Eileen Agranat, Janet Coates, Barbara Tiller and Helen Keaney. | |
Highlights of the settlement include:
- No cuts to health insurance benefits
- No mandatory cancellation of shifts
- Limits to flex requirements after three years in the position and the opportunity for flex nurses to buy back hours with holiday and vacation time
- An opportunity for 50 percent of nurses in cluster positions in a unit to opt out of the program
- The formation of a “nurse staffing advisory committee” which provides staff nurses a strong voice with a commitment for management and the MNA to work together to resolve staffing concerns
- A two-year contract with a 2 percent across-the-board pay raise for all nurses one year from the date of a successful ratification
- A commitment from the hospital recognizing and agreeing with the principles of the “Nurse Practice Act”
- Protections against a nurse being floated to an unfamiliar unit along with defined guidelines for a dedicated float pool
- A guaranteed paid professional day of the nurse’s choice for education
- The committee worked tirelessly to maintain existing benefits while seeking to add important language into the contract—all during a time of severe fiscal limitations. They now look forward to ensuring that nurses understand and utilize these new protections and benefits to their advantage.
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