Vocal opposition from our nurses got management’s attention and helped us fight off planned cuts to the recruitment and retention stipend for some of our RNs.
The stipends, which go back several years with multiple renewals, were on the chopping block upon expiration this June. Management had informed us of plans to keep them for some areas and halve them for others, breaking a pattern of working collaboratively with us to renew them.
But many of our members, especially our nurses directly impacted, turned out to object at Dr. Andy’s June 18 town hall and in subsequent communication to UConn Health leadership. Powered by that show of strength and conversations with our member RNs, UHP leadership was able to convince our employer to reconsider, and we ended up with a new memorandum of agreement (MoA) to continue all the RN recruitment and retention stipends for another year!
The dispute made the news — several of our members were quoted in the Hartford Courant.
While this is an important development in our larger discussions with management, we understand there is much more work to do to maintain what we’ve won in the past and seek fair compensation for all our members. This must be done one step at a time. Thank you to all those who recognized its importance and lent their voices in support, making this gain possible!