By KENNEDY GRIFFIN
(Greenfield, MA) Greenfield nurses with the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) reached an agreement on their contract with Baystate Franklin Medical Center after multiple years of negotiating. The agreement includes a 4% raise for this year, a 5% raise in 2023, and reduces the maximum pay threshold from 35 years of service to 18. Also in the contract is language supporting minimum staffing levels to ensure safe and quality patient care.
“We are proud of this agreement and what it will do to help us recruit and retain the nurses we need to provide quality patient care,” said Suzanne Love, BFMC ED nurse and MNA Bargaining Committee Co-Chair. “We fought hard together – as nurses and our community – to convince Baystate Health executives to agree to important patient care protections and competitive wage increases.”
“Our community has shown amazing support for our nurses and our contract negotiations,” said Marissa Potter, BFMC OB nurse and MNA Bargaining Committee Co-Chair. “This agreement will help us protect our ability to provide safe patient care and address staffing shortages that have caused healthcare worker burnout and moral injury.”