After more than a month on the picket line, back-and-forth statements from different union leaders about a possible strike-ending agreement, an order to go back to work, and finally a vote on a proposed deal, Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center nurses remain without a contract.
Nurses on Tuesday night rejected a tentative contract reached between union and hospital negotiators, with 57 percent of those voting rejecting the deal.
Roughly 950 nurses had been on strike from May 6 until June 12, when their bargaining unit, UAW Local 2213, announced it had reached a tentative contract agreement with Mercy Health. Two other hospital units totaling about 930 technical workers and nonmedical support staff also took part in the strike until they voted to approve new contracts in early June.
Nurses voted on their tentative agreement Monday and Tuesday. Shortly after polls closed, UAW spokesman Sandy Theis told The Blade 57 percent of members voted against the proposal.
Toledo #nurses rejected their contract - 57% voted NO. @UAWRegion2BRN vowed to keep fighting for a better contract and work for passage of safe staffing laws. @toledonews @WTOL11Toledo @13abc @News24 @TPortune
— Sandy Theis (@SandyTheis) June 18, 2019
“The nurses have spoken and the UAW accepts the outcome,’’ Sue Pratt, president of Local 2213 said in a statement. “We remain committed to achieving a fair contract for nurses, and we remain committed to continuing to fight for changes that will enhance patient safety by reducing mandatory overtime.’’
UAW officials said nurses voted down a contract that included pay raises, a reduction in the number of on-call hours they must work and caps on out-of-pocket health-care costs. But nurses insisted that proposal didn’t go far enough — especially provisions dealing with mandatory on-call and safe staffing, a central issue at the heart of the labor dispute, according to a union statement.
Mercy officials in a statement said they were “disappointed” that nurses rejected the proposed contract “which was agreed to and recommended by their union leadership and which addressed all publicly-stated concerns.”
They added the proposal that went to nurses was similar to the contract ratified by the hospital’s other union groups.
“We believe that the rejection was the result of confusion between Local 2213 leaders and the UAW, which resulted in the vote being delayed until this week although nurses returned to work on June 13,” Mercy’s statement said. “Because of our obligations to the community and the trust we have earned with patients and families, we will keep moving forward with our long-term plans to ensure we are fully able to meet our patients’ needs now and in the future, as we have for 163 years.”
The vote was held inside St. Vincent Medical Center, which is on Cherry Street north of Sherman. Attempts by The Blade to speak to nurses have been unsuccessful. Several have declined comment, and St. Vincent staff did not allow media members on hospital grounds either during the vote or after it concluded.
UAW Local 12 Headquarters, located on Ashland Avenue only about a mile from the hospital, was the site of much organizing activity in the early days of the strike. On Tuesday night the union hall appeared to be empty; the parking lot deserted.
Nurses returned to work last week after UAW Region 2B Director Rich Rankin said in a video posted to Facebook that a tentative agreement was reached after Mercy reportedly threatened to permanently replace striking nurses if they didn't return to work.
Mercy has denied the threat about replacing nurses, saying it has been "aggressively hiring" in an effort to reduce on-call hours. During the strike, Mercy began advertising for nursing and clinical professional positions, offering new hires bonuses up to $25,000.
The UAW in bargaining talks attempted to get St. Vincent to cap on-call hours at 750 annually. Some nurses have said they were on-call more than 2,000 hours last year and most of the time they were asked to come back to work or stay after their shift had ended. Mercy has said only 3 percent of UAW-represented associates work more than 40 hours during any given week.
Ms. Theis previously said it the deal voted on Tuesday included:
- Market equity adjustments for more than 600 nurses, with some receiving immediate raises up to 6 percent.
- At least a 2 percent raise for all nurses.
- “Locked-in” health-care costs, with wage increases offsetting higher premiums.
- More than 300 nurses with more than 18 years of service moved to top of wage scales.
- Limits to 16 the number of consecutive hours a nurse can be forced to work in a 24-hour period.
- Uniform allowances and an increase in the number of uniform pieces provided.
- Shift differential for working nights and weekends.
- New language to reinforce staffing ratios and other staffing issues.
- A 15 percent reduction in on-call hours within an 18-month period for “certain areas.”
Mercy officials on Tuesday said the proposal in question was reached after “10 months of negotiations, with the help of a federal mediator.” They characterized terms of the deal as:
- Pay raises in each year, and up to 6 percent in the first year.
- Fixed out-of-pocket health insurance maximums and deductibles.
- Guaranteed reductions in on-call scheduling.
- Increases in tuition reimbursement and the student loan-forgiveness program.
- Access to incentives through an employee reward (bonus) program.
- Increases in weekend premium, shift differential and multiple location premiums.
The three-year contracts ratified by technical workers and support staff contained a 4 percent pay increase by this fall and a 15 percent reduction in on-call hours in a year-and-a-half. The new contract also more clearly illustrated members’ health-care costs, gives back a portion of their paid-time-off used during the strike, and provides financial assistance for uniform costs.
UAW leaders have vowed to return to the bargaining table in the wake of Tuesday’s vote.
First Published June 18, 2019, 11:33 p.m.
