NYSNA Members at CVPH Ratify Strong Union Contract
On Oct. 22, after nearly a year of bargaining, NYSNA members at University of Vermont Health-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (UVMH-CVPH) voted “yes” to ratifying a new four-year contract!
NYSNA members finalized a tentative agreement on Oct. 16, after a marathon 24-hour bargaining session. The contract includes several strong wins for NYSNA members and their patients, including safe staffing improvements, better protections against workplace violence and fair wages to improve worker retention.
Keeping North Country Patients and Workers Safe
NYSNA members fought to improve safe staffing language in their union contract to protect safe, quality patient care in the North Country. After CVPH management unilaterally changed nurse-patient ratios in medical-surgical units last year, NYSNA members knew safe staffing would be a cornerstone of their contract fight.
Working understaffed can negatively impact patient care and lead to burnout for healthcare workers. But during this round of bargaining, UVMH tried to remove safe staffing language from healthcare workers’ contract altogether.
Speaking Out for a Fair Contract
Last spring, NYSNA members at CVPH held several actions to make it clear that safe staffing is nonnegotiable. Hundreds of healthcare professionals joined speak-outs and an informational picket at the hospital to demand a fair contract that protects safe patient care. Elected officials and labor allies stood alongside NYSNA members, echoing their demands for a contract that would ensure quality care for North Country patients.
The final contract includes several wins for safe staffing, including improved, enforceable staffing language and a new committee for clinical areas that aren’t included in the safe staffing law.
The contract also includes new protections against workplace violence. Rates of violence in healthcare settings are on the rise across the country, and the North Country is no different. During the speak-outs and info-picket, several nurses spoke about violence they’ve faced at CVPH. NYSNA members were able to secure a commitment to installing weapons detection systems at the hospital, as well as paid time off for members who experience workplace violence
Working in Solidarity to Build Power
Throughout the campaign, NYSNA members at CVPH coordinated with union siblings in the UVMH system across the lake, UVMH Medical Center Support Staff United and the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Healthcare Professionals, to ramp up the pressure on hospital management.
Members joined a town hall and pickets hosted by the Vermont unions, and they also worked together to deliver a joint letter to the CVPH Board of Trustees. The Vermont unions won fair contracts shortly before NYSNA members finished their bargaining.
Community members also rallied behind healthcare professionals, posting union signs in their storefronts to show solidarity in the fight for a fair contract.
In June, when UVMH announced the closure of the Adirondack Blood Donor Center, NYSNA members jumped into action to launch a community petition and organize a speak-out. The closure went ahead, but members held onto the momentum in their campaign for a fair contract.
Nurses and healthcare professionals in the North Country are showing that when we fight, we win. Congratulations to NYSNA members at CVPH for taking on a multi-state corporate healthcare system and winning a fair contract for North Country patients and healthcare professionals!