Jeannette nurses back pact

 By Bob Stiles

TRIBUNE-REVIEW (Pittsburgh)

Saturday, November 2, 2002

Nurses at Jeannette District Memorial Hospital overwhelmingly supported a new three-year contract Friday, one that gives them wage increases, a new weekend shift differential and a cap on employee health care contributions.

Of the union members who voted, 98 percent favored the contract, said Janine Yodanis, staff representative of Pennsylvania Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, a union that along with the Jeannette Professional Nurses Association, or JPNA, represents about 170 nurses at the hospital. She did not know how many nurses voted.

Votes were cast at three sessions: 1, 4 and 8 p.m. at the American Legion post in Jeannette. The nurses' previous contract expired Thursday.

"I'm really excited," said Karen Edmunds, of Jeannette, JPNA co-president. "I think it's a very good contract for the nurses. It has us going in the direction we need to go.

"We have kept protections against mandatory overtime, have capped our health insurance costs to minimal levels over the three years, and our wages have been significantly improved."

With hourly shift differentials included, the average registered nurse is expected to get 6.2 percent increase for the first year of the agreement, according to union officials. Licensed practical nurses will receive an average 8 percent increase for the first year.

The second year, an across-the-board 3 percent hike is called for. Another 3 percent increase is planned for the third year. In addition, in the last year of the contract, the hospital has agreed to do a study to look at the competitiveness of wages.

Under the previous agreement, nurses earned between $15 and $21 per hour, depending on the type of job and experience level, according to union officials.

"This contract will make sure that no nurses will face high health insurance," said Edmunds, a registered nurse. "It improves tuition reimbursement for nurses. It also helps cover the difficult shifts by establishing differentials of up to $2 per hour during the off shifts and weekends."

No changes were made in the pension plan contributions made by the hospital.

A nationwide shortage of nurses helped in the outcome of the talks, union officials said.

"When we improve working conditions for the nurses, as we did in this contract, we can improve nurse staffing levels," Edmunds said. "The result is better patient care for our community."

Nancy Walters, of North Huntingdon Township, was among those who voted to accept the contract proposal.

"I thought we got a good deal," she said. "We got pretty much everything we asked for."

Registered nurse Lucille Robino, of Jeannette, agreed. She said she particularly liked the addition of shift differentials to the contract.

"They (nurses' bargaining team) did very well," she said.

Bob Stiles can be reached at bstiles@tribweb.com or (724) 836-6622.