PARK RAPIDS — A tentative agreement was reached late Saturday, Aug. 10, between the SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa negotiating team and management at CHI St. Joseph Health in Park Rapids.
The agreement was reached just hours before a two-day Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike by approximately 50 hospital workers was scheduled to begin Tuesday morning, according to a media release from SEI Healthcare MN&IA.
The announcement said the two sides reached the agreement at 11 p.m. during the 10th negotiating session, resulting in “significant gains” on workers' key demands.
The full contract has been released to members, who are expected to vote on the draft agreement next week.
Market-adjusted pay increases will be implemented across the board, with most workers receiving raises of 10% or more and some receiving raises of up to 19% over their current wages, with an additional 4.5% increase in years 2 and 3. Shift differential and weekend differential hourly pay will be increased by $2. A recognition bonus of $250 will be provided, paid retroactively to July 1. The Labor-Management Committee will reconvene to help address future issues.
Vanessa Habedank, a surgical technician at the hospital for 25 years and part of the negotiating team, expressed excitement about the tentative agreement.
“Until recently, we were unhappy because we felt like our employers were only paying us pennies,” Habedank said. “We voted to strike at the end of last month because some health care workers were not getting the pay increase they deserved with the wages they were offered.”
“Our group was united and ready to strike. By uniting, we were able to pressure for pay increases across the board, so our group is now at or near market value across the board. This fight helped build the strength and confidence of our group, demonstrating our ability to get what we want and deserve for ourselves and our patients.”
Contracts for workers in positions including environmental services, CNAs, home health aides, laundry and sterile processing technicians, surgical technicians, secretaries, receptionists, surgery schedulers, cooks and pharmacy technicians ended June 30, according to the announcement.
According to the announcement, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa brings together approximately 50,000 health care workers across the two states.
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