43
Northside nurses ratify new pact
YOUNGSTOWN
Northside Medical Center’s registered nurses ratified a new three-year contract with Community Health Systems Inc. in voting Friday.
The voting came during membership meetings of the Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association at 8 a.m., noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday at Teamsters Local 377’s hall.
“The nurses are glad to have a three-year contract,” said Eric Williams, YGDNA president, adding that it sends the right message.
Northside, which has about 300 RNs represented by YGDNA, is affiliated with ValleyCare Health System of Ohio, which is owned by Community Health Systems.
“Ratification is a positive step, and we are pleased to have this mutually acceptable agreement in place with our registered nurses. We will continue working together with our RNs and all our caregivers to serve the health care needs of our patients and community with quality, compassionate care,” said Trish Hrina, vice president of marketing and public relations for Northside and ValleyCare Health System of Ohio.
The contract, reached Aug. 31 and endorsed by YGDNA’s negotiating team, includes modest pay increases that will help offset the increased employee share of health care insurance premiums, said Eric Williams, YGDNA president.
It specifically includes a 6 percent total increase over the next three years, and “over and above” increases for nurses who have longevity, he added. “The nurses are going to be there to provide the quality care at Northside.”
The contract goes into immediate effect and runs through June 30, 2018. Nurses have been working under extensions of a one-year work agreement that expired in February, Williams said.
The union president said the pact offers modest gains for the nurses, but does not address the issue of mandatory overtime. That issue has gone to arbitration, Williams said.