Malone, NY – New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA)-represented Nurses employed at the University of Vermont (UVM)-Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new four-year contract.
This victory comes after months at the bargaining table and a late-night bargaining session on June 17th when Nurses reached a tentative contract agreement.
Highlights of the contract include: Maintained health benefits; Fair wages to help recruit and retain Nurses for safe staffing, including yearly wage increases of 3%; Additional pay incentives to maintain safe staffing and encourage Nurse retention and education; Improved protections against workplace violence; New protections against Artificial Intelligence (AI); and Increased notification in the event of a layoff.
UVM-Alice Hyde Registered Nurse Kim Bouvier-Barnes said: “NYSNA Nurses at UVM-Alice Hyde work hard to care for our community and ensure they receive the best care possible. This contract will help us deliver on that commitment. We’re proud of our Members for staying united and advocating for a contract that will help us protect patient care and retain experienced Nurses.”
NYSNA Nurses are united across the North Country and are fighting to improve care for their communities.
NYSNA Nurses at UVM-Elizabethtown Community Hospital settled a new contract on March 31st that included entrance into the NYSNA Benefit Fund, which will deliver better and more affordable health benefits to Nurses and their families.
Now that UVM-Alice Hyde Nurses have settled their contract, UVM-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) is the only New York Hospital in the UVM Health System that has yet to settle a fair contract with its Nurses and Health Care Workers.
UVM-CVPH Nurses and Health Care Professionals recently spoken out for safe staffing and held an informational picket in front of the Hospital to demand a fair contract with safe staffing, good health benefits, and protections against workplace violence, AI and layoffs.
UVM recently announced system-wide layoffs that impact five NYSNA Members at CVPH, including Registered Nurses at the Adirondack Blood Donor Center, which UVM is threatening to close, further eroding health care services in the North Country.
NYSNA Members at CVPH and community and patient advocates in the Plattsburgh area are planning a speak-out to ensure the Center, which provides 95% of the blood supply to North Country hospitals, stays open.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said: “North Country Nurses are leading the way in winning great contracts that protect quality patient care and deliver good Union jobs and good family-sustaining health benefits. NYSNA is proud of our Members’ fierce patient advocacy and will continue to support the fight to preserve access to quality care in every corner of the State.”
NYSNA, which represents 45,000 Members in the State, is New York’s largest Union and Professional Association for Registered Nurses.
NYSNA is an Affiliate of National Nurses United, the country’s largest and fastest-growing Union and Professional Association of Registered Nurses, with more than 225,000 Members nationwide.
To Directly Access This Labor News Report, Go To: UVM-Alice Hyde Medical Center Nurses Overwhelmingly Ratify New Contract Agreement | New York State Nurses Association
