A union representing hundreds of nurses and technicians at a Newark hospital have reached a contract agreement with management, ending a month-long strike, both sides confirmed to NJ Advance Media on Thursday.
The 300 nurses and 60-plus respiratory therapists and radiology, CT scan and MRI technicians at Saint Michael’s Medical Center are returning to work after ratifying a new three-year deal in a vote Wednesday night, St. Michael’s and the Jersey Economic Security Organization union stated.
“It’s time to kiss and make up,” Virginia Treacy, a veteran nurse and negotiator for the union, told NJ Advance Media on Thursday.
St. Michael’s CEO Dr. Alan Sickles said in a statement that he was “thrilled that the rank-and-file members of the union approved what we believe is a fair contract proposal.
“While it’s unfortunate that we could not have negotiated this agreement without a strike,” Sickles added, “we are looking forward to having our nurses and medical staff return to their jobs.”
The nurses and technicians walked off the job on May 23, three weeks after their previous three-year contract had expired and multiple negotiating sessions had failed to result in a new deal.
Pay was a central issue, with the union seeking 6% annual raises and asserting that low pay — an average of $44 an hour — relative to surrounding facilities had led to a staffing shortage of 42 nurses and 17 technicians that overburdened workers and threatened the quality of care.
The hospital’s California-based owner, Prime Healthcare, which was largely applauded when it acquired the bankrupt hospital in 2016, was offering 2% a year. In the end, the workers got 3%, according to the union.
But the union said it got management to drop a proposal to eliminate step increases, or smaller, incremental raises given to staffers based on seniority regardless of the annual percentage pay hikes negotiated in each contract. Management’s announcement was silent on terms of the agreement.
The union said management also agreed to freeze healthcare premiums for three years, offer an optional plan aside from its self-insurance, and allow workers to chose their own doctors rather than having to accept referrals.
The union said management also had agreed to keep “float blocks” in place, meaning nurses would only be assigned to certain units where they had special expertise. And, the union said, management had agreed to meet state requirements for staffing levels and federal guidance for supplying COVID-related personal protective devices, or PPDs.
Saint Michael’s is a 357-bed facility on Central Avenue in the University Heights section overlooking Newark’s downtown. It’s is one of three New Jersey hospitals owned by Prime Healthcare, a largely physician-run nationwide company that also owns St. Mary’s General Hospital in Passaic and Saint Clare’s hospitals in Denville and Dover.
This is the third three-year contract between the union and Prime since it acquired the hospital. Treacy said it was St. Michael’s first strike under any owner since 1984.
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Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com