The WGA isn't the only union that took home a win this year. The Rochester Union of Nurses and Allied Professionals, or RUNAP, has ratified its first contract with Rochester General Hospital — and it looks like the new union is off to a strong start.
"We obviously didn't get everything we went in for," says Stacey Judson, a RUNAP member and
The contract was hard-won, with just the last two meetings leading up to the contracting lasting 13 and 15 hours respectively. But Judson and Taylor Warner, RUNAP member and pediatric RN at Rochester General, agree that their union's efforts made a difference.
Warner notes that the contract included a stipulation that holds their
"We got language into the [contract] that says the staffing committee cannot substantially reduce the grids without the union's approval," says Warner. "If they are going to change the way a unit was staffed entirely or try to reduce the amount of staff on the unit they would have to negotiate with the union."
Judson adds that if the hospital fails to meet certain minimums for staffing every business quarter, fines will be imposed that then go to the union. Judson is confident this will encourage safer ratios and create safer working conditions for nurses and patients alike.
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RUNAP also gained an immediate 6% raise for their members, as well as experience-based wage scales that will go into effect by the end of March 2024. If a new nurse comes with 12 years of experience, for example, they will be paid accordingly. Judson believes this will attract more nurses with experience to Rochester General. The union even managed to raise the hourly on-call rate for nurses; for every hour they're on call, nurses will be paid $5 instead of $3. (Once they're called in, they receive their standard wage.)
Notably, the RUNAP made some progress on healthcare premiums, getting their premium increases capped at 6% or less a year, not just for themselves but for four other hospitals covered by the same plan. (Those hospitals are not part of the RUNAP.)
"We knew healthcare might be a challenge because it affects an entire system," says Judson. But now they're not going to move those premiums for the entire system, and because of that, we're going to have more affordable health care."
The new contract touched on retirement benefits too, as Rochester General was moving to get rid of pensions for new hires. Now, pensions are here to stay for new and veteran talent, says Judson.
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"Even though I'm looking at retiring within the next six years, I know pensions are a recruiting tool and godsend really," she says. "So far, since news broke, I've had two nurses reach out to me personally to inquire about it."
Warner and Judson underline that none of this progress would have been possible without their union and strikes. It was clear to both nurses Rochester General was feeling pressured to figure something out before the nurses walked for five days. According to Warner and Judson, management even engaged in illegal tactics to potentially persuade nurses not to strike.
"They were hoping and praying that we weren't going to — one of the nurse managers was handing out a piece of paper and standing over [staff], asking them whether they are going to join a five-day strike, circle yes or no? Which in itself is illegal," says Judson. "We were more prepared to strike than they were to have a strike."
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But ultimately the strike didn't have to play out, and in turn, the new contract brings Rochester nurses one step closer to their goal: to make Rochester General the hospital of choice for nurses and patients.
"It's been an incredible journey going through this process, but we're by no means done," says Warner. "One can argue that this is where the real work begins. We have to make sure we are advocating for ourselves and that the hospital is holding up its end of the bargain. We're not going to stop until it's safe for patients and safe for nurses."
