Ad
Featured
Union, hospital reach an agreement
UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center nurse Samantha Hines, center, said she wants to get negotiations started right away to find ways to improve patient and healing conditions at the hospital during a press conference on Aug. 19.
Published
Modified
RIO RANCHO — As of Oct. 13, a contract between UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center and United Health Professionals union went into effect.
This contract came about after a constant back-and-forth argument between the union and the hospital over the past year. It comes after a judge ordered the hospital and the union to go to the table for negotiations earlier this year.
According to the union, they ratified the contract with SRMC Oct. 13 saying it is the first step in improving patient healing conditions and working conditions at UNM SRMC.
The key points of the contract include creation of a labor-management committee that will look into safe staffing ratios and other ways to improve patient healing conditions and working conditions, a wage increase, job protections and a prohibition on the hospital unilaterally changing the working conditions and benefits without negotiating with the union. The wage increase, which non-union staff already received, is a 3% increase. It was part of the union’s ratification of the contract and went into effect when the contract did.
“It’s been a long process to get a first contract. We know there is still more work needed for our patients, community and ourselves, and we are looking forward to doing more,” Samantha Hines, an RN at UNM SRMC, said.
For the hospital leadership, the contract agreement was also welcomed.
“I’m pleased the negotiation teams were able to come together at the table and reach an agreement. I appreciate the time and dedicated effort that went into every meeting over the last month. Our employees deserve the focus and collaboration that was required to get this done,” UNM Hospital CEO Kate Becker said.
SRMC president Jamie Silva-Steele says the hospital remains committed to providing the very best care to patients while also supporting staff who “selflessly” put their patients first.
“This is great news for our clinical employees here at SRMC who work hard to deliver high-quality and safe care to every patient who comes through our hospital doors,” she said.
The union is comprised of about 400 nurses and other health professionals who work at UNM SRMC. This includes pro re nata nurses (PRNs), which was one of the main arguments in past negotiations between the union and the hospital. The hospital says it is still waiting for a final ruling from a New Mexico District Court judge to decide whether PRNs can be included in the bargaining unit.
Ad
The hospital still maintains that PRN employees are freelance workers and that it would be unlawful to include them in public union membership.
“However, in the spirit of bargaining in good faith, UNM Hospital agreed to include PRNs into the bargaining group while the two sides wait for the judge’s ruling that will determine whether PRNs remain in the membership group or not,” a release states.
The union maintains that the hospital has made the process more difficult than necessary and says it is keeping all employees, PRN or not, in mind.
“This contract represents basic respect for hospital professionals who work tirelessly for their patients. It shouldn’t have been so hard to get to this place, and the workers’ tenacity and the public’s support for their current or future caregivers moved the needle and resulted in this contract,” Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, the parent union of the UHPNM, said.
“We need hospitals to work collaboratively with their front-line workers and respect their input. When that happens, workers and patients are better off.”
