TOLEDO, Ohio — Nurses have voted to ratify the updated contracted negotiated by Mercy Health and union leaders late Tuesday evening.
Mercy Health released a statement saying they were pleased to learn the nurses' decision and that they are "are grateful that all of our associates now have reached fair contracts and that we can move forward together."
The prepared statement sent out by Mercy Health Communications Director, Erica Blake, went on to say that "the agreement provides pay raises and other improvements while addressing associates’ concerns on issues such as on-call and healthcare benefits."
The UAW says the three-year collective bargaining agreement addresses concerns about the previous contract and achieved some key changes, such as provisions that address on-call hours and a timely response to safe care reporting.
The new contract ensures nurses will not be required to work on-site for more than 16 hours; and if they do work 16 hours, they will not be called back in for a minimum of eight hours.
The UAW also says Mercy Health - St. Vincent Medical Center has agreed to language about responding timely to Safe Care reports of nurses.
“We believe that Mercy-St. Vincent’s has addressed some major concerns raised in the previous collective bargaining vote,” said Susan Pratt President of UAW Local 2213. “Bargaining is a democratic process and we believe the voice of nurses has resulted in needed improvements at Mercy-St. Vincent’s. Some of these changes have set a path toward improvements for nursing conditions and for patients that can be built on in future bargaining.”