The three-year agreement, announced Sept. 12 on the union’s Facebook page, covers 650 nurses at the hospital. It includes an average pay raise of 24% by the end of the contract and features a commitment to reducing rotating day/night shifts, according to SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania.
“In this new contract, we’ve won a guarantee that no nurse with 20 years of licensure will make less than $50 per hour, and I’m excited to see the impact that has on nurse retention,” Joanne Germanos, RN, a labor and delivery nurse at West Penn, said in a union news release shared with Becker’s.
Nurses approved the deal Sept. 11 after voting to authorize a strike in August. SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania members at AHN’s Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights, Pa., have also approved a new three-year contract after authorizing a strike last month.
Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network shared the following statement with Becker’s on Sept. 12: “We are pleased to have reached new contract agreements with our bargaining units at AHN’s Allegheny Valley Hospital and West Penn Hospital. The contracts ratified this week are reflective of our organization’s commitment to providing competitive wages and benefits, and a fulfilling work life experience, for all our employees, including both represented and non-represented team members.”
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