Members of the Federation of Nurses/UFT on Jan. 30 overwhelmingly ratified a two-year contract with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.

VNS had been seeking to eliminate the nurses’ defined-benefit pension plan and require the nurses to pay for their own health benefits. With a Feb. 1 strike deadline fast approaching, the home health care agency agreed to a contract that preserves the nurses’ existing health care and pension benefits.

“We have prevented the discontinuation of our defined-benefit pension plan,” said UFT Vice President for Non-DOE Members Anne Goldman, who led the negotiations. “We did not let them touch our pensions, and we did not let them touch the pensions of the next generation.”

She said the contract was a major victory at a time when private companies are doing away with pensions and mandating large employee contributions to health benefits.

“We stuck together,” said VNS Chapter Leader Cora Shillingford. “At the end of the day, wisdom prevailed over emotion. We’ve been trying to tell the Visiting Nurse Service for two years they cannot do anything without us, and we have the UFT behind us. They finally came to their senses.”

Under the settlement, the union’s 2,200 VNS registered nurses will receive a 2 percent increase in base pay, effective April 1, with another 2 percent bump in their base rate in January 2015. Per diems will also see a 2 percent increase in their hourly rate in 2015.

“It seems to be a major accomplishment,” said Denise Cost, a hospice nurse in Manhattan who was among the overflow crowd who came out to vote on the contract proposal. “Not only did we get a small raise but we maintained our benefits, which is very meaningful. Just because the rest of the country is going in the opposite direction doesn’t mean we have to.”

Murielle Vilfort, an acute care nurse on Staten Island who is raising three children as a single mom, said the contract is security for her children. Vilfort said she started as a per diem three years ago and became full time because of the benefits.

“It was important to preserve the health benefits for my family. It’s a big deal,” she said.

Angel Peralta, who works with the VNS managed long-term care program in Manhattan, said he’s glad that the tuition benefit also was preserved. Peralta said he is about to start taking online courses toward a bachelor’s degree in nursing. “Tuition is expensive,” he said.

VNS, the oldest and largest not-for-profit home health care agency in the United States, was forced to repay $33.6 million in 2013 after a state investigation found that the agency had fraudulently billed for Medicaid services. Citing the debt it incurred as a result, VNS laid off 500 staff, including 300 nurses, in January.

“That episode led to the suspension of innocent nurses and, more importantly, resulted in thousands of elderly who were not served,” Goldman said. “Our union was able to find a path to peace. We had no confidence in VNS in terms of respect. We hope this contract will begin the transformation of that relationship.”