Respect Backus Hospital's Veteran Nurses

Donna Handley, Hartford HealthCare East Region President

Hospital administrators have made market adjustments to our union members’ wage scale for steps 1-13, which impacted a large percentage of our nurses that were previously underpaid.

The increases range from 0.79%-21.14% - clearly a positive step in the right direction for recruiting and retaining nurses. Administrators took advantage of article 47.2 in our contract, which allows them to make upward market adjustments.

Having a fair and competitive wage scale has always been our goal and is something we fought hard for during negotiations last year. Achieving safe patient limits and retaining talented nurses have also been our objectives - we hope these wage adjustments will help.

We also believe that longevity should be recognized and rewarded and have asked Hartford HealthCare’s East Region's President to consider bonuses for more senior nurses, as well. Help amplify our call to negotiate by adding your name to the petition to Donna Handley demanding respect for Backus Hospital's veteran staff.

To: Donna Handley, Hartford HealthCare East Region President
From: [Your Name]

We, the nurses at William Backus Hospital in Norwich, have risked our lives for our patients for more than a year and half. We remain committed to ensuring our employer provides appropriate compensation for the safe patient care we deliver every day.

The recent market adjustments made to the wage scale for our union members at steps 1-13 go a long way toward realizing that objective. Now is the time for Hartford HealthCare to extend longevity pay for the hospital's more senior caregivers.

Competitive pay is an essential element to assuring safety in all workplaces, but particularly so in acute care settings. Without it, our employer is unable to recruit or retain the talented nurses needed now and in the future to care for Backus Hospital’s patients.

Therefore, we call on Hartford HealthCare to meet our union leaders at the bargaining table in a spirit of collaboration and cooperation aimed at investing in veteran caregivers. The shared goal for both labor and management should be a fair longevity package for senior nurses that reflects the recent market adjustments for newer employees.