UCMC’s Economic Proposal to Nurses
A summary of UCMC’s economic proposals are below. What’s listed is current through bargaining on February 27, 2024.
ANNUAL RAISES:
UCMC’s initial economic offer increases nurses’ general wages each year over a four-year contract.
- Year 1: 4.5%
- Year 2: 3.66%
- Year 3: 3.33%
- Year 4: 3%
That amounts to a 15.3% compounded salary increase over the life of the contract in addition to nurses’ regular step increases. (By comparison, the 2019 contract that was ratified by NNU nurses contained an 8.2% salary increase over the four-year period.)
SUPPLEMENTAL PAY & DIFFERENTIALS:
Our proposal includes raising differentials above those outlined in the current CBA for nurses working in and/or assigned to certain roles.
CHARGE, LEAD, PRECEPTOR DIFFERENTIALS, AND ON-CALL BONUS:
Certain roles include additional differentials above what is outlined in the current CBA. This is due to pandemic-era interim agreements, which have no defined expiration date and can end at any time based on labor market conditions.
UCMC’s economic proposal continues to honor these higher rates since they reflect the difficulty we’ve had filling these positions.
If the region’s labor market changes and the interim agreement is no longer necessary, these nurses would contractually be able to receive a differential payment that’s higher than the rate that was negotiated in 2019.
PARKING:
We propose several substantial changes to parking for NNU nurses as we continue to identify creative parking solutions more broadly for our employees.
- Providing Garage A parking to ALL 2nd shift nurses who are not currently in Garage A or B.
- Freezing 2nd -shift parking costs through the life of the new contract.
- Maintaining % of garage spaces allocated to RNs.
We will also continue our current benefit giving 3rd shift nurses free garage parking.
BENEFITS:
We know health insurance costs are climbing (as they are for all companies), and we are working hard to mitigate that impact on our employees’ paychecks. That’s why we want to maintain the current cost-sharing percentages of insurance premiums for the life of the four-year contract. This ensures employer and employee insurance cost-sharing obligations are locked in, and will remain unchanged from today’s levels.
In addition, we want to memorialize in the CBA language providing six weeks of paid parental leave for nurses. UCMC created this new benefit in 2021 and extended it to NNU nurses on the same basis it is made available to other UCMC employees. This modification officially adds that language to the contract.
IN-HOUSE REGISTRY (IHR):
Over the life of the contract, we want to raise hourly rates for nurses working in our In-House Registry (IHR). We know we pay market-leading wages for this role, and propose raising the rate twice over the four-year contract.
- Year 1: Maintain current rate
- Year 2: +$1.50/hour
- Year 3: Maintain year 2 rate
- Year 4: $1.50 hour
INCREASE TO NURSING PAY RATES:
If the Medical Center hires a new nurse or raises the pay of an existing nurse after the contract is ratified, other current nurses on the same unit or department with the same relevant experience will also receive the benefit of that same higher rate. This is similar to the NNU contract currently in place for Ingalls Memorial nurses.
We also propose adding contract language that allows for retention bonuses for nurses.
FEDERAL HOLIDAYS:
We want to maintain the list of recognized federal holidays, which includes Martin Luther King Jr. Day (added at UCMC’s request in 2022). We also want to add language allowing nurses to take Juneteenth as a personal holiday.