NORWICH – UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital administrators and registered nursing staff are in the midst of heated negotiations revolving around an expired contract that remains invalid since late spring.
A meeting between hospital administrators and the nurses union – local 1199 Service Employees International Union - was held Monday night at the Norwich Family YMCA community room as a last ditch effort toward a resolution that would be acceptable to both management and staff.
In an effort at resolution, and to thwart what would be another stalemate, both sides agreed the aid of a federal moderator was warranted for discussions.
The debate focuses primarily on the benefits of the registered nursing staff, namely the usage of collected sick and “PTO” (paid time off), programs that have been part of the company's benefit package for decades. Administration at the facility suggest implementing some changes with the contract renewal and the nurses feel they're being “negotiated down,” according to Bargaining Committee member and Staff Educator Lynn Drake, MSN, RN-BC, WCC.
Drake, who has been with the rural upstate hospital for nearly 35 years, said the reach of this purposed contract doesn't stop there.
Health insurance is also at the forefront of the hot-button debate. While hospital employees will see a significant increase in insurance premiums if the drafted contract is enacted, the actual cost to the hospital has only increased approximately 2 percent, according to Drake.
“Over the years, the hospital has pushed issues like this and has lost many excellent employees as a result,” added Drake. “It's difficult to recruit and retain quality nurses to meet the needs of our community now; reducing the benefits that attract potential nurses will only make it more difficult in the future.”
Drake further explained, “Not only will it revoke hundreds of hours of paid time off that nurses have earned, the proposed policy changes are also much more restrictive in terms of how we can use and gain access to our time off.”
Hospital administrators maintain that while they understand the concerns of the vested employees and appreciate their many years of valued dedication and service, they are obliged to initiate changes that would bring nursing staff benefits to both industry standards, and impartial to the balance of employees at the facility.
Said VP Director of Human Resources Anne English, “We're just trying to make our polices fair for every one of our employees; all of the other employees at the facility have faced changes to their benefits in the past and they have adjusted well.”
English also mentioned that the hospital is acting proactively, as this is a matter of cash flow. “We need to plan ahead and be fiscally responsible in order to remain competitive in the service we provide,” she added.
“To our knowledge, no employee has resigned from our facility on the premise of benefits adjustments,” added English.
Drake confirmed that the negotiations – which lasted into the late hours of Monday evening – yielded some resolution that will be voted upon by bargaining committee members at a later date.