KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A potential strike has been averted at Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo after an overwhelming majority of unionized nurses ratified a new contract with their hospital’s administration Wednesday. The three-year agreement covers over 300 registered nurses at the hospital.
The new contract was reached after 86% of voting Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) members at Ascension Borgess passed a resolution authorizing their elected bargaining team to call for a strike should it be necessary.
“This new contract clearly shows the difference that nurses can make when we are united together as a union,” said Lori Batzloff, a nurse at the hospital and the president of the local bargaining unit of the MNA at the hospital. “We were able to win improvements that will benefit our patients and community as a whole.”
According to the union, highlights of the new deal include average pay raises of 20.5% in year one of the contract, creating a new wage scale ranging from $33.44 to $48.72, an additional emergency personal day for all RNs, increasing shift differentials for evening and night shift nurses by $1/hr, as well as increasing on-call pay to $5/hr to help address staffing concerns
A hospital proposal that required RNs to work every other weekend and eliminated all contractually guaranteed leaves was dropped from the deal.
“I am so proud of what we were able to accomplish together as nurses by showing our solidarity and grateful for the amazing support we had from our community,” said Doris Goodrich, a nurse at Ascension Borgess and member of the nurses’ bargaining team. “We hope that this contract will mark the beginning of a new chapter at our hospital and for our patients.”
