Tentative Agreement Reached on 2015-2017 Contract
The parties reached a comprehensive tentative agreement for the 2015-2017 contract during the 16th bargaining session, on December 17, 2015.
Highlights of the 2015-2017 Agreement
Wages
- General Wage Increases:
- 3% across the board wage increase for year one, effective after ratification.
- 3% across the board wage increase, effective July 1, 2016.
- Lump Sum Payment:
- $600 lump sum payment upon ratification for nurses above .6 FTE.
- $300 lump sum payment upon ratification for nurses at or below .6 FTE.
- Top Step: The parties agreed to add a new salary step to the top of the wage scale, effective in the pay period following ratification.
Premiums
- Certification Premium: Certification pay will be increased to $1.25 per hour for eligible nurses certified in their area of specialty practice.
- ECLS Nurse Premium: The parties agreed to a $4 per hour premium for time designated as Extra-Corporeal Life Support (“ECLS”) nurses.
- Resource Vascular Access Team Premium: The parties agreed to a $4 per hour premium for time designated as Resource Vascular Access Team nurses.
Union Security (“Fair Share”) – If the Supreme Court decides that mandatory union dues/fees are legal in the upcoming “Friedrichs” decision (anticipated next June), the parties will then conduct a vote (administered by the Public Employment Relations Commission) to determine whether or not payment of dues/fees should be mandatory for new nurses at UWMC.
Staffing – The parties agreed to language providing clear staffing guidelines and goals. Agreed-upon language maintains UWMC’s ongoing commitment to make a good faith effort to provide staffing levels that enable nurses to receive rest and meal breaks and take accrued leave, as well as to not regularly assign nurses to care for more patients than anticipated by the staffing matrix and relevant safety requirements.
On-call – Mandatory on-call will be limited to a mutually agreed upon list of departments.
Call Back and Standby – Expansions to call back and standby premiums will increase the minimum work period guaranteed to nurses at a time-and-one-half rate to three hours.
Nurse Orientation – The parties agreed to increase WSNA’s access to new-hires and transfers during orientation, including increasing the designated union time during orientation from 15 to 30 minutes.
Nursing Masters Degrees – The parties agreed to memorialize that nurses receive a one-step pay increase for attaining a Masters in Nursing or Masters of Science in Nursing degree.
Next Steps
The parties will now recommend this agreement to their constituents for approval and ratification.