Windham Community Memorial Hospital nurses and support staff have ratified a new contract with parent company Hartford HealthCare that freezes wages over the span of the three-year agreement, unless the company turns a profit.
The contract affects roughly 350 employees in two bargaining units, including registered nurses in one and nearly all non-managerial staff in the other, ranging from patient care technicians to radiation technologists, maintenance, and dietary staff.
The mediated settlement follows nine months of negotiations with Hartford HealthCare, which owns the 130-bed facility, and an informational picket in October when talks broke down.
The union representing the two groups — the American Federation of Teachers Locals 5099 and 5041 — voted in favor of the contract Thursday.
“This contract approval is the result of good-faith negotiations on the part of hospital management and the two bargaining units,” Windham Hospital President Bimal Patel said. “We are pleased that union members accepted the agreement. As always, our goal is to work together so all of us at Windham Hospital can do our very best to provide high-quality, affordable health care — especially during these highly uncertain times for the health care industry.”
Union spokesman Matt O’Connor said the contract agreement is “pretty unique.”
As long as the company breaks even or shows a loss, there is no pay raise. But if Windham hospital reports a profit at any time over the next three years, workers will see their salary increase based on that margin, he said.
For example, a 2 percent annual profit for the company would translate into a 2 percent raise for union staff, O’Connor said. Potential raises would be capped at 3 percent, according to the agreement.
Hartford HealthCare, which besides Windham also owns Hartford Hospital, William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain, and MidState Medical Center in Meriden, must report its earnings annually to the state Office of Health Care Access, or OHCA.
Union presidents Leigh Johnson and Heidi Kolle recognized their collective membership for making significant economic concessions while holding to their principles in order to achieve the settlement agreement.
“As caregivers, we understand the challenges facing our community hospital,” said Kolle, a patient access services associate in emergency room registration and admitting at Windham Hospital and president of AFT Local 5099. “That’s why our members approved an agreement that links our success to the hospital’s success.”
“Our No. 1 priority has been protecting community access to vital services,” said Johnson, a registered nurse at Windham and president of AFT Local 5041. “Our settlement retains language empowering us to continue our historic role as advocates for our patients and ourselves.”
In earlier proposals, Hartford HealthCare representatives had stripped the ability of caregivers to negotiate cutbacks, shutdowns, or eventual closure of the hospital, union officials say. But with a federal mediator overseeing negotiations, management agreed to withdraw the language and the final hurdle to the settlement was reached last week, they said.
Last year there were concerns among community members that Hartford HealthCare would reduce the number of licensed beds at Windham to 32, and eliminate complex, inpatient surgery, and critical care.
At the time, hospital officials said the facility averaged only 20 patients per day, and cuts were necessary to keep pace with some $41 million in reduced state and federal funding, declining patient volume, and increased competition.
Windham hospital ended last fiscal year in the red, posting a 6.84 percent loss in revenue, and had the lowest bed occupancy rate in the state at 38 percent, according to documents filed with state regulators.
The Journal Inquirer reported that when Hartford HealthCare announced job cuts and program changes in June 2015, it had previously paid bonus and incentive compensation to 18 of its top executives.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been corrected to reflect the impact of the hospital turning a profit.
