NY: Columbia Presbyterian Contract to raise base pay to $60,570 !

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NYSNA Presbyterian Nurses Approve Landmark

Contract

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01/07/02

Nurses at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center approved on Dec. 20 a precedent-setting three-year contract that will provide safe staffing guarantees, health coverage upon retirement and breakthrough base salaries.

Contract highlights (reached in just 12 negotiating sessions):

*Safe staffing guarantees - A mechanism to allow the nurses to enforce unit-by-unit, shift-by-shift guidelines for safe RN staffing will be expanded throughout the entire hospital. Under their most recent contract, this enforceability provision was in effect in only one area of the hospital. Guidelines can be enforced through grievance and third-party arbitration if they are not implemented by hospital management. A full-time labor -management committee will also be established to continuously monitor staffing levels and staffing related problems.

*Retiree health - Recognizing that health care coverage is an important issue for veteran registered nurses, this contract will provide retiring RNs with up to $2,500 each year tax free to cover the cost of purchasing health insurance.

*Salary - The nurses will receive a 12% salary increase over the life of the contract. The base rate for staff nurses will increase from its current $48,500 to $60,570 in the contract's final year. RNs will also receive a retention bonus equal to 1% of their salary in the contract's third year.

*Additional compensation - The cap on the experience differential was raised from $25,000 after 29 years to $29,000 after 32 years, while the differential for working the evening and night Veteran RNs who also mentor orientees - called preceptors - will also receive a raise in their pay for such duties.

*Continuing education - Recognizing the need to help RNs keep shifts was raised from $5,400 per year to $6,000 per year. their job skills current, the contract increases tuition reimbursement from 15 credits and $6,000 per year to 18 credits and $10,000 per year.

Full press release

http://www.nysna.org/NEWS/PRESS/PR2001/pr122101_1.htm

It should be the norm.

Hi. Wow! Thumbs up! It would be great to follow this story after the contract goes in effect for the three years.

forgive me for bragging here but.........

NEW YORK STATE NURSES ASSOCIATION (NYSNA) NURSES IN NEW YORK CITY DO IT AGAIN!

Why? THE NURSES!

Just 2 short yrs ago, the 1600 RNs at this famous NYC hospital were 1 hr away from walking out on strike over staffing issues when the hospital finally blinked first & gave in to an offer the nurses could accept. Obviously the administration learned its lesson about NYSNA nurse unity & strength from that experience because THIS time, they saw the light right away & worked with the nurses for the common good.... without even having the threat of a strike....

And negotiated that in just 12 sessions - the first time in 20 yrs that that has been accomplished.

This proves there IS enough money to make improvements, & that administrators CAN regognize that RNs need & deserve those improvements. And they CAN start to fix the problem of Retention. These 1,600 unionized nurses just raised the bar for EVERY nurse in the entire city - not only in salaries but for staffing and other issues too. If one hospital can find a way to provide for decent salaries & safe staffing, more can.

Thats how we make it "the norm". Nurses at one facility raise the bar and the next unit brings it up a little higher with their negotiations, and the next & so on & then the non-union facilities have to raise their offers or not be able to find any staff at all, & pretty soon we have "the norm". We do not yet have our staffing ratio guidelines bill passed into law but most NYSNA nurses in NYC have RN-to-PT safe staffing ratios set anyway, by contract. And THEY are the ones who developed their ratios.

Other nurses outside of the city are also fighting for that & obtaining it, so setting & having enforceable safe staffing ratios in our contract is becoming "the norm" for us even though we dont yet have the state law.

I can just imagine how many RN applications Presby is going to start receiving tomorrow from nurses all over the tri-state area........ and I cant wait to see what happens as other contract negotiations start at other hospitals after this!

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