Negotiating pay for a transfer

[Matthew Henry, ASN]

Hey everyone. I am a Med/Surg ANM right now who is looking to transfer back to a regular RN position. I have 3 years experience as a Tele RN and almost 2 1/2 years as an ANM on Med/Surg during which I recently received a daisy award from my peers. Our Stepdown and ICU units are severely short right now and I have been floated to stepdown several times in the past few months to take care of patients. I talked to the stepdown manager about transferring and she was so very excited. I put in a transfer and got an offer which I accepted over the phone. I’ll be going from 35.66/hr down to 33.52/hr. I understand that it is a demotion but that unit is desperate for nurses and they are holding hiring events regularly and offering up to 20k sign on bonuses for experienced nurses. Do you think it is feasible to negotiate this offer based on my experience? 

[203bravo, MSN, APRN]

I would tread carefully here... you have already applied for and accepted a position within a system in which you are already employed....

you know you don't qualify for the sign on... I may would speak to the manager about the pay rate and mention that while you were expecting a reduction you never expected such a large reduction in your hourly rate and that really cannot afford such a pay reduction at this time.. I'd be willing to bet that they do have some ability to increase the pay rate rather than risk having your rescind your acceptance in order to keep your current position. 

[Oceannurse1234]

I think as long as you have a back-up plan if the answer is no, then YES, negotiate. I do not think we should ever agree to an initial offer. I think it is also okay to negotiate as you go. In a union position, that won't happen though. The rate is the same increase for all employees. Not sure about non-union entities.