Nearly a thousand union service and technical employees at Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health will receive raises under a new contract, according to the union that represents them.
SEIU Healthcare Michigan said the three-year deal covers employees at the health system's Taylor, Trenton and Wayne hospitals in Michigan.
It includes a 2 percent lump-sum raise this year and a 5 percent raise over the next three years for most covered workers. According to the union, patient sitters, who were not included in the previous contract but were added in the new one, will receive raises from $9.25 an hour to $12 an hour. They will also receive additional paid time off days.
"Whether you are black, brown or white, you deserve a strong union," said Ken Haney, vice president of SEIU Healthcare Michigan. "The benefits in this contract will improve the lives of both union and nonunion workers alike."
The agreement comes after about a year and a half of contract negotiations.
Other parts of the contract include maintaining Martin Luther King Day as a paid holiday; increasing personal leave days; and overtime pay for shifts of more than eight hours.
Beaumont Health Chief Human Resources Officer Aaron Gillingham told Becker's Hospital Review in a statement that the health system is pleased with the deal:
"As always, our objective is to provide all Beaumont employees with market-competitive wages and benefits regardless of whether or not they are represented. The wages in this new agreement are fair and consistent with pay rates elsewhere in the market. We strongly believe Beaumont Health is the best health system in our region to work and receive care."