Employees at Fox Chase Cancer Center’s Office of Clinical Research in Philadelphia on March 26 voted to ratify their first union contract after 15 months of negotiations.
The three-year contract was voted on by 85 professionals who oversee clinical research and have expertise in nursing, data management, quality assurance, protocol development and regulatory affairs, according to a March 27 news release from the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals that was shared with Becker’s.
According to the union, key contract provisions include:
- An average wage increase of 8.2% in the first year, with an average 17% increase over two years
- A $1,250 ratification bonus for full-time employees and $625 for part-time employees
- New parental leave benefits starting in the summer
- A new system for evaluating employee experience
OCR United, an affiliate of PASNAP, represents clinical research registered nurses, clinical research coordinators, clinical research data specialists and financial analysts at Fox Chase’s clinical research office.
“Fox Chase Cancer Center is pleased to confirm that we have ratified a contract with the represented employees of our Office of Clinical Research,” the cancer center said in a statement shared with Becker’s. “We believe this contract provides an equitable agreement that benefits everyone at Fox Chase, most especially our patients who depend on the professionals in this office to support our clinical trials program, which provides life-saving, cutting-edge care.”
The ratification follows a broader unionization effort at the cancer center: More than 500 nurses and technical specialists unionized with PASNAP in June 2023 and ratified their first union contract in May 2024. Fox Chase is affiliated with Philadelphia-based Temple Health.
“This contract will go a long way toward keeping our talent in house and focused on our patients and our protocols,” Diane Creitz, BSN, RN, a senior clinical research educator at Fox Chase, said in the release.
