Edited release
03/09/23
3,800 nurses and other healthcare professionals at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics who are union members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa have ratified a new contract with the hospital system.
A release from the union says the two sides reached a tentative agreement the last week of February. Members voted Tuesday overwhelmingly to approve the deal. The contract follows months of bargaining and workers taking actions, including union members holding an informational picket last month.
Dawn Shannahan, who has worked at UIHC for over 3 years as an Educator, said in the release that the negotiations were the most challenging in her experience, due to what she called the disrespect the Board of Regents showed the union. Although she expressed disappointment that the Regents refused to discuss numerous permissible contract topics brought to the table, Shannahan said the union did make some gains.
The new contract includes a 3% increase to base pay for all job classes in the agreement; a 6% increase across the board for existing employees, 3% each year; and the elimination of maximum salaries from the contract.
Additionally, the Extending Labor-Management Committee will continue discussing issues and solutions.
The union says it’s the best agreement they’ve negotiated since the collective bargaining agreement was changed by Iowa Law in 2017.
The bargaining unit represents nurses, clinicians, radiology staff, social workers, and over 65 other professional jobs at UIHC.