MARCH 29, 2024 — UHP members are a step closer to seeing raises this July and next January, following overwhelming ratification of our tentative agreement to reopen our contract for wages.
The vote was 842 in favor and five against, meaning more than 99% of voters approved the agreement, which provides a 2.5 general wage increase (GWI) effective July 2024 and a step increase January 2025. About 30% of our membership's eligible voters took part in the ratification.
There are additional steps in the process.
- All 34 SEBAC unions must ratify the wage reopener. The State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition negotiated the raises with the Lamont administration on behalf of all its unions, an approach known as "coalition bargaining." We expect SEBAC to announce the aggregate results by the middle of next week.
- Now that we've ratified it, UConn Health's board of directors has to sign off on the agreement. The board is holding a special meeting Tuesday to act on this.
- If approved by the board, it goes next to the Capitol for final approval by the general assembly before the end of this legislative session in early May.
The agreement covers the final year of our current contract, which runs through June 2025. UHP will start preparing for the next contract negotiation later this year, and will put out a call for members to join the negotiating team in late summer or early fall.
If approved, this will represent six consecutive UHP contract years with both a GWI and step increase. For those who haven't reached their top step, that would mean a more than 30% increase in pay over that six-year period. Those who are at the top step of their salary group will get a $1,200 lump-sum payment in January.
At the time a step increase goes into effect, the member's most recent performance evaluation must be satisfactory in order to be eligible for the step increase (or lump sum if applicable).