Registered nurses at Providence Everett Medical Center will vote Friday on a proposed three-year contract, with wage increases based on the average of what is paid at other Puget Sound-area hospitals.
The proposed contract with the United Staff Nurses Union covers the hospital’s nearly 1,000 registered nurses. The current contract expired Oct. 30.
The union has recommended approval of the proposal, union representative John Aslakson said.
The contract calls for nurses’ wages to be pegged to the average of what their counterparts are paid at hospitals from Bellingham to Tacoma, he said. Those hospitals include the University of Washington Medical Center and Swedish Medical Center, both in Seattle.
If approved, it would be the second consecutive contract at the Everett hospital where nurse’s wages were determined in this way.
“We use the process to ensure that wages will be competitive,” Aslakson said.
“I think it’s an extremely positive proposal,” said Bill Giezie, the hospital’s assistant administrator for human resources.
Negotiations began in September. In early December, a federal mediator was brought in to help the two sides reach an agreement.
The contract also covers health insurance and other workplace issues, but Aslakson said he could not provide details until after the vote.
The union’s negotiating team included 12 nurses, he said.
“It was long and difficult negotiations,” Aslakson said. “Our negotiating team did an excellent job of pursuing the issues and coming up with solutions to some of the big issues involving employment condition for nurses.”
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