Caritas Christi hospital workers OK contract
Unionized employees at four community hospitals in the Caritas Christi Health Care system have ratified a new four-year contract that will give them a 3 percent raise and a bonus on Jan. 1.
The nearly 3,000 workers, represented by Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union, stand to receive another 4 percent pay hike next October and additional raises of at least 2 percent in the third and fourth years of the contract, the first new labor agreement covering eastern Massachusetts hospitals in years.
A range of employees -- from certified nursing assistants to medical lab technicians -- at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton, Caritas Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Norwood Hospital, and Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton are covered by the new pact.
The vote on Thursday to ratify the new contract was 926-104, said Veronica Turner, vice president of SEIU Local 1199.
"In this climate, it's better than fair," said Turner, noting that other area hospitals have frozen wages and reduced benefits. In addition to the wage increases, she said, union members will be able to take college courses underwritten by a training fund financed by Caritas Christi.
Ralph de la Torre, chief executive of the Boston-based Caritas Christi system, which includes six hospitals, said the agreement would provide stability for workers and management at the Caritas hospitals.
"By knowing who our workers are, by knowing they're going to be there, it allows us to develop quality programs together, things that pay dividends for years down the line," de la Torre said.
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