RNs at Fatima get new three-year contract

Registered nurses at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital ratified a new three-year contract yesterday by a vote of 177 to 5. The contract will run from August 1, 2003 through July 31, 2006.

The union successfully negotiated a number of provisions that will improve staffing, including the establishment of a staffing committee that will meet monthly to resolve any issues that arise. Another provision also now prohibits a new hire from taking a patient assignment until he or she is properly oriented.

The contract also establishes a per diem float pool – a pool of nurses will be used to cover off shifts (evening and nights) and weekend shifts, according to a Fatima release. A tuition forgiveness program was also established to recruit nurses from the St. Joseph’s School of Nursing.

Nurses will receive between 3.5 and 8 percent in wage increases in the contract’s first year, between 3 and 7 percent in the second, and 3 and 8 percent in the third.

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Under the new contract, the nurses also retain HealthMate Coast-to-Coast as the base health insurance plan with a few plan changes and an increase in contributions to the premiums.

The nurses are members of the Fatima Hospital United Nurses & Allied Professionals, Local 5110, made up of about 325 RNs and is an affiliate of the United Nurses & Allied Professionals, which represents about 4,000 nurses and health care professionals in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Vermont.

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