Dear WIH Community,
As you know, we are in contract negotiations with 1199SEIU. In order to keep our community informed, we will be communicating with you regularly about the most recent developments. Our goal is to reach an agreement before the contracts expire on November 30, 2024.
The hospital is focused in these negotiations on proposals that help us retain and recruit the best talent, empower managers and staff to meet patient needs, modernize practices to address the evolving healthcare environment, and ensure financial stability and growth for the organization. We want to be sure that Women & Infants is in the best possible position to support our patients and our colleagues for many years to come.
We had a session on Wednesday, November 13. Here’s what happened:
- The two groups had productive conversation during this session. We spent a good deal of time listening to each other and better understanding each side’s positions. We believe there is a path to reaching a fair contract.
- A federal mediator joined negotiations today, and we hope his presence will help move the group to resolution.
- The union accepted 2 of the hospital’s proposals and rejected many others.
- Both the hospital and the union made several counterproposals.
Next week, the hospital will provide proposals for wage increases.
We are hopeful based on Wednesday’s session that the two groups can reach a resolution. Prior to this session, we had heard the union talking about a possible strike. Let us be clear that we do not want a strike and believe it would benefit no one. We encourage our union colleagues to continue the good dialogue from today and work with us to reach an agreement.
We continue to update the WIHFacts.org website with the latest information and questions about negotiations. Please visit the site and submit questions you have about negotiations and proposals.
Sincerely,
The Women & Infants Negotiating Team