CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Registered nurses at the University of Chicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital have a contract for the fist time.
The National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United announced Monday that registered nurses at UChicago Medicine Ingalls, in Harvey, have voted overwhelmingly to ratify their historic first contract.
“We are clear that this four-year contract will lead to improvements in patient care at Ingalls as the nurses will now have a real say in the decision-making process,” said Lisa Vaughns, a registered nurse who works in the intensive care unit.
The approved new deal includes wage hikes and paid family leave. The average across-the-board salary increase is 12.6 percent over the four-year agreement, with some nurses seeing increases of as much as 48.5 percent. And there will be six weeks of paid family leave given for birth or adoption of a child, regardless of gender of parent.
According to the union, the agreement establishes "a fair and transparent wage grid that sets salary based on years of experience, rather than market fluctuations or management whim."
The contact also calls for the establishment of of a Professional Practice Committee (PPC) that is recognized by management to address issues nurses have with staffing and patient care. The agreement will also create a Workplace Violence Committee, an Infectious Disease Committee, and an Acuity Committee to better address issues that affect nurse and patient safety, the union said.
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Nurses also note that this contract includes an important and historic commitment from management to hire associate degree nurses.
“We are very proud we were able to secure these opportunities for associate degree nurses, who are too often shut out of acute-care hospital settings although they prove themselves to be fully competent as they must pass the same board exam as nurses with bachelor’s degrees,” said Donna Dubois, RN. “This important commitment will go a long way toward providing opportunities for nurses who are graduating from the surrounding community colleges.”
Nurses at the Harvey hospital voted in October 2019 to be represented by the union, which also represents nurses at the University of Chicago Medicine in Chicago.
NNOC/NNU represents 450 nurses at UChicago Medicine Ingalls.