
Union nurses and Martha’s Vineyard Hospital have reached an agreement on a new three-year contract, avoiding the threat of a one-day strike raised as a possibility in the fall.
Laura Hilliard, a registered nurse and local representative for the Massachusetts Nurses Association, said that nurses will be receiving a 30 percent wage increase across the board, which she said was a good and fair deal.
“The committee was satisfied with the settlement, and I think the hospital was happy to have it squared away,” Hilliard said of the committee that acted on nurses’ behalf during negotiations.
The settlement was reached in early December. Aside from 30 percent raises, the deal also includes what Hilliard described as a more equal agreement on insurance coverage.
The two sides began working on a new contract in the spring. In October, the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the largest nurses’ union in the state, representing Island nurses, released a statement saying that the local chapter had voted overwhelmingly on a potential one-day strike following what they said was Mass General Brigham refusing to invest adequately in permanent nurses. Hilliard said that local nurses have struggled with a high cost of living and paying for housing on the Island, which has forced the hospital to rely more on traveling nurses.
The two sides negotiated with the help of a federal mediator, Hilliard said, until mid-November, when an agreement was reached. She said the contract was ratified on Dec. 5, when the whole union bargaining unit voted 59 to 4 in favor of the new contract.
The union representative said that agreement on a contract that helped retain staff and recruit new full-time nurses was front and center to the negotiations. And she’s optimistic that the new agreement will help the hospital move forward.
“We are definitely hopeful that this will help retention and recruitment,” Hilliard said.
Hospital officials, in a statement, said that they are happy to have reached a deal with the nurses’ union.
“We are extremely gratified to have reached an agreement with the Massachusetts Nursing Association for a new contract that reflects the incredible care our nurses provide to our patients as well as their tremendous contributions to our Martha’s Vineyard Hospital community,” said Claire Seguin, chief nurse and vice president of operations at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. “Our nurses are the heart of our organization, and we are so grateful for all they do for our patients and each other.”