Bargaining opens at CVPH

Contract negotiations for NYSNA nurses and professionals at University of Vermont Health Network-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (UVHN-CVPH) in Plattsburgh got off to a powerful start in mid-November with a strong showing of unity and determination.

Seeking to achieve a contract that encompasses a half dozen key priorities, committee members gathered endorsement signatures on a contract demand poster from 564 members in just seven days. The poster served a purpose.

At the December 6 bargaining session, NYSNA members opened by presenting that poster across the table to the hospital’s CNO. LBU Co-Chair Dea Lacey, RN, said demands can be summed up in the six points contained on the poster: 1) protect rights to safe staffing and to advocate for quality care; 2) achieve wage parity between CVPH and UVHN colleagues; 3) provide health coverage for nurses and professionals; 4) ensure employment and income security; 5) preserve and expand retirement security; and 6) create a fair path for those that work at CVPH’s Medical Group Management to achieve the same wages and benefits as their co-workers at the main CVPH campus.

Ms. Lacey was excited to see members so ready to bargain: “We’ve got great unity and a strong member commitment to achieving a high standard for nurses, professionals and patients at CVPH and throughout the UVHN network.”