Brockton Hospital nurses ratified a new contract

Brockton Hospital nurses ratified a new contract, the nurses' union said today.

The vote was 174 to 14 in favor of the agreement, said the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represented registered nurses at the hospital.

The three-year contract provides wage increases of 13 to 23 percent and establishes a new reimbursement benefit, the nurses association said.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement that will provide a competitive pay scale with other area hospitals, which is an important step toward stemming the loss of nurses from this facility, while also providing us with the ability to recruit new nurses into this hospital," Kathy Metzger, a nurse at the hospital and a co-chair of the nurses' local bargaining unit, said in a statement.

"We are pleased to have reached a settlement," a hospital spokesman said. "The nurses are an integral part of this organization."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)