UFT Nurses OK VNS contract:

11th-hour ratification avoids strike

With the clock ticking down the minutes to a midnight strike deadline, Federation of Nurses/UFT members overwhelmingly ratified a new contract with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York on Jan. 31. The lopsided vote followed a unanimous recommendation by the union’s 31-member negotiating team, composed of VNS nurses, to accept the proposed offer.

The VNS Negotiating Team.

The two-year pact increases base salaries by 3.67 percent this year, retroactive to Jan. 1, and by another 2.38 percent next Jan 1.

The staff nurse salary rises to $63,000 this year and increases next January to $64,500.

The contract provides similar increases for every title except nurse practitioners. They will see annual salaries rise to $75,000 this year and $78,000 next year. All the new salary scales were reflected in paychecks issued March 25.

In addition, there were no health-benefit givebacks, a persistent management demand beaten back by the negotiating committee.

The pact affects all 2,200 Federation of Nurses/UFT members employed by the 110-year-old VNS.

“This bargaining team did wonders,” Special Representative Anne Goldman told members attending the ratification meeting. “They are dedicated, well-informed and didn’t get paid a union salary. They are you.

“After a full day’s work, they put in more time to obtain an on-time contract. In this day and age, it’s unheard of to get a contract on time that also has retro [monies].”

One tactic that helped get the contract done on time was the union’s move to file a 10-day notice to strike, a state requirement for private-sector health care professionals.

“That filing told the employers we were serious, and that the employer had a real deadline,” Goldman said.

The pact, which was approved by secret ballot following detailed bargaining team reports, a lengthy question-and-answer session and a vigorous discussion by members, also increases the per-diem visit rate to $52.25, retroactive to Jan. 1.

That figure will rise to $52.50 per visit next year, with additional increases depending on the type of visit.

In addition, the agreement increases the Coordinator of Care (COC) bonus for managing a case from $1,350 to $1,500 this year and $1,600 next year.

It also increases the certification differential to $1,200 and provides eligibility for a second certification differential as well.

“Management wouldn’t even address the per-diem issue at first. Now we continue to have the highest published per-diem nursing rates for any union contract nationwide,” said Special Representative Angela Kahn.

The employer will also continue to contribute to the nurses’ benefit fund in the amount of $9,900 per employee this year and $11,088 next year.

The pact increases and expands the VNS experience scale to provide an additional $15,000 when employees reach 20 years seniority. The union even negotiated a new benefit that allows RNs who are at least 60-years old and have 20 years or more of VNS service to receive a one-time lump sum payment of $4,000 as a termination benefit.

Furthermore, the union negotiated improvements in vacation scheduling and computer damage issues, as well as improvements to ensure escort and translator availability.

Standing at the back of the packed union auditorium, watching as Goldman, Kahn and VNS Chapter Leader Cora Schillingford took well-earned congratulations from members appreciative of the new contract, Special Representative Hope Willocks breathed a sigh of relief. The relief would be short-lived, she knew.

“After this, it’s on to Lutheran Medical Center,” where bargaining on a new contract was set to begin Feb. 1, she said.

Following the on-time contract ratification vote, UFT President Randi Weingarten congratulated Coordinator of Negotiations Lucille Swaim, as well as Goldman, Schillingford and the union’s negotiating committee, for their work in crafting the agreement. She also credited the employer for negotiating in good faith.

“Unlike many other institutions in the profession, this employer engaged in a real give-and-take with its employees and was willing to work with us to solve real problems,” Weingarten said.