Rochester General Hospital (RGH) and the Rochester Union of Nurses & Allied Professionals (RUNAP) met today for our 21st bargaining session since negotiations began in October of last year. The session began shortly after 10 AM and ended at just after noon. During today’s session, a Federal Mediator was once again present to assist the parties in their negotiations.
Unfortunately, today’s session was not productive. While RGH had hoped to reach some Tentative Agreements (TAs) with the union after none were reached during the September 11th session, unfortunately, RUNAP did not offer any responsive proposals to the package of proposals that RGH presented today. RUNAP did not demonstrate any flexibility in their latest proposals, and no tentative agreements were reached. This is disappointing given how long negotiations have been going on.
During the session, RGH presented a new package of proposals that included:
- Wages: RGH’s most recent counterproposal offers RNs an average 8% wage increase upon ratification, with 3% increases in years two and three, 4% in year four, and 3% in year five. Additionally, RGH maintained its previous proposal to include the department premiums in base rates moving forward and to add a Longevity Bonus that recognizes employees with 20+ years of licensure on a semi-annual basis.
- Differentials: RGH increased its offer on differentials, by moving to increase its weekday night rate by $.50/hr. (to $3.50), its weekend evening rate by $0.25/hr. ($4.00) and its Weekend night by $0.25/hr. ($5/hr.). As part of these new amounts, RGH also proposed a weekend day differential of $1.50 (which is $0.25 more than current state but less than stated in a prior proposal).
- Certifications: RGH revised its counterproposal to allow those nurses with more than two certifications to continue to receive pay for all of their certifications until expiration of the certifications that exceed the limit of two (2). Once expired, up to two new and/or renewed certifications will be recognized.
- Temporary Reassignment (Floating): RGH maintained its previous counterproposal to further define where RNs can and cannot be floated within the hospital, based on their clinical groups.
- Per Diem Proposal: RGH continues to propose its existing per diem pay program, but RGH increased the proposed increase to the add-on to the hourly rate to $7.00.
- Staffing: RGH maintained it prior proposal on this issue.
- Hours, Overtime, On-Call & Schedules: RGH maintained its prior proposal on this issue.
Again, although RUNAP indicated it would not accept RGH’s package proposal, RUNAP made clear it would not be presenting any new proposals or counterproposals at this session.
What’s Next
RGH and RUNAP are scheduled to meet again for bargaining on September 27th. We will issue updates following future meetings to keep you informed. You can sign up to receive email or text alerts when a new bargaining update is posted to the website and also submit any questions. Please visit www.RGHNursesMatter.org for more information.