Hospital legal counsel following our comprehensive offer from Wednesday night and as a follow-up to our Thursday email. We had clearly stated our position on limits on Healthcare costs and retroactivity of monetary items.

Ultimately we were able to come away with a TA for a very fair contract for the next 5 years. The Local has scheduled an TA explanation/ratification meeting for this Monday 12/10. Ironically, flyers that were posted for this scheduled meeting had mentioned a Strike authorization vote. The Hospital was definitely mindful of this fact in their response to our proposals.

While we did not get everything we sought at the table during this bargaining, the Membership will be voting to ratify an Agreement that protects their standard of living with wage increases and a medical plan that has locked in modest increases to monthly cost share over the life of the CBA.

Some highlights:

•5 year Contract term
• Wages: Full & Part Time increases- 2012: 2% (retroactive to 7/1/12), 2013: 2%, 2014: 2%, 2015: 2% & 2016: 2%;
• Per Diem wage increases - 2013: 2% & 2015 of 2%;
•2% increase across the board to all existing wage scale tables and rates.
• On-Call pay increased from $4.50/hr to $6.50/hr beginning 1/1/13.
•$2.00 In charge differential for each hour worked (perviously had to work a full shift)
• 1x per year bid-off of mandated OT assignments
• Members out on disability sickness can now access/exhaust all hours in their Long Term Illness Bank.
• Tuition Reimbursement increases to $3,500/yr for FT & $1,750/yr for PT on 1/1/13.
• Hospital's yearly Pension Plan contribution of 3% of each Member's base salary to continue.
•$2.00 differential for contrast injection continued/confirmed in side letter
• Modest monthly cost share increases of $7.50-$10-$10 to health care: from $25-$50-$100 in 2012 to $65-$100-$150 by 2017 (Hospital had proposed tripling rates and/or shifting to a flat % split of costs when renewal rates came out this November).

Thanks to The Bargaining Team who did a great job in fighting to hold the line hare and improve benefits for the Membership:

Staff Representative-Mike Garry
Local 1103 Business Agent- Anthony "Pug" Pugliese.
Cheif Steward- Tom Stala
Stewards- Robert Sherlock, John Mathew and Grace Tolbert.