NARH, Service Union Sign 3-Year Contract
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — 1199SEIU members and North Adams Regional Hospital have ratified a three-year contract agreement.
The Northern Berkshire Healthcare Board of Trustees ratified the agreement unanimously on Thursday, April 25, two weeks after members of the SEIU voted to approve the contract.
"We all feel proud of the contract that 1199SEIU members have ratified and feel it is a positive outcome for workers, hospital administrators, and the patients we serve," said Deb Poplaski, 1199SEIU chapter chairman at NARH, in a statement. "I was very proud of our bargaining committee members that were at the table. This was a professional and respectful round of negotiations between NARH and 1199SEIU members. We not only talked to each other, but both sides listened and heard what was being said."
Negotiations were far different this time around than the contentious contract talks in 2009 that led to a strike vote.
"Negotiations were different this time because the NARH negotiators had a completely new team – including their lawyer – and that made a smoother process possible," Poplaski said.
New NBH President and CEO Timonthy Jones congratulated the union and hospital's negotiating teams on behalf of the trustees and the hospital management.
"1199SEIU came to the table with a great spirit of willingness and we appreciate their hard work. We look forward to a great future together," he said in a statement.
Poplaski said this was the first time since being a delegate on the negotiating team that longtime chapter Chairman Michael O'Brien had not participated. O'Brien, a respiratory therapist, retired earlier this year.
"Mike was always the backbone and common sense of negotiations and deserves credit for laying so much of the foundation that made this most recent, positive round of negotiations possible," she said.
1199SEIU (Service Employees International Union) represents about 170 employees at NARH in a variety of professions including radiologic technologists, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, environmental services, nutrition services, and a range of other clerical, technical, and direct care positions.
Tags: 1199SEIU, NARH, union contract,
