Federation of Nurses/UFT members who are Registered Professional Nurses employed by VNS Health overwhelmingly ratified a contract on Jan. 29 that provides a 15% pay increase over two years, additional money for experience differentials and improvements in scheduling.
The contract, which went into effect on Feb. 1 and runs through January 2026, features an 8% pay hike effective April 1, 2024, and a 7% increase effective April 1, 2025. The base salary for new hires, which is now $97,100, will increase to $112,209 by April 2025.
The experience differential for years of service on the job will increase by $800 for each year. The contract adds experience differentials for 17 and for 18 or more years of service as an RN and for 21 and for 22 or more years of experience specifically at VNS Health.
“This contract allows us not only to recruit the best, but it allows us to retain and recognize our most experienced nurses, which often doesn’t happen,” said UFT Vice President Anne Goldman, the head of the Federation of Nurses/UFT. “Usually the industry ignores those who have been loyal and stayed on board.”
Visiting nurse Nancy Delgado, a 28-year veteran at VNS Health, said the new experience differential “makes me feel appreciated and valued.”
Certification differentials will increase to $1,400. RNs can receive a payment for earning up to four certifications (provided one is in wound care, diabetes or hospice and another is OASIS), one more than under the previous contract. The total available certification differential amount will rise from $3,600 to $5,600 annually.
New RNs will be eligible for tuition reimbursement after six months of employment.
VNS RNs who work in “hard to staff” areas of New York City, such as specific parts of the South Bronx, will receive a $2,500 quarterly bonus, or up to $10,000 a year. For on-call work, shift rates will increase by 10% and visit rates will increase by 12%.
The bargaining process began in October with an online survey sent to VNS RNs to determine members’ contract priorities. The 15-person negotiating committee based its demands on the results of that survey.
The negotiating committee stood firm against any givebacks. Health insurance remains premium free, and new hires will be eligible for health coverage one month earlier than previously.
The new contract allows the nurses to have more control over their work schedules. Previously, VNS RNs were required to be on call for one month per year, and the process for scheduling that time was haphazard. Under the new contract, that one month will be broken into four one-week periods that must be scheduled three months in advance.
For these on-call weeks, nurses can now volunteer for regions that are closer to home, and if an on-call shift goes late, the nurse is allowed to start the next day’s shift late. Availability of parking in a given neighborhood will now be taken into account when scheduling on-call shifts.
Goldman emphasized that visiting nurses, who travel to people’s homes, play a difficult and critical role in health care. They have to contend with traffic, weather and unpredictable working environments to deliver care in a culturally sensitive manner. “The challenges are immense,” she said. “It takes a unique person.”
VNS Health Chapter Leader Raquel Webb-Geddes said the negotiating team was able to get agency management to begin to recognize the hard work her members put in. “Nurses are being asked to do more with less,” she said. “The employer showing some respect for the work we do in nursing is important.”
A separate contract covering VNS Health Licensed Practical Nurses will expire in January 2025.