Letter to the editor: Unions valuable to nurses and patients

Like many newer nurses, I’ve struggled to find my feet during many shifts in the hospital.

Luckily, I joined our recent union negotiations, and I’m forever grateful for the experience. As nurses, we committed ourselves to shifting our hospital from short term staffing solutions like travel staff and sign-on bonuses to real investments in retaining bedside nurses.

We made real progress in our contract: $40 an hour start rate and average raises of 23% over three years with no caps, protected our retirement benefits, added additional safety protections, and expanded the float pool to reduce use of travelers.

We didn’t achieve everything, but we really raised the bar.

When I heard UPMC started giving RN raises, I smiled. It’s proof that when any group of nurses moves ahead, hospital executives will feel pressure to make improvements for the others.

I learned through negotiations that if nurses want to see real change, they’re going to have to demand it.

My wish for the new year?

That all nurses unite so we can really speak for ourselves and for our patients. Imagine our profession if nurses — not hospital executives — were in charge of patient care decisions.

Jessica Platt

Prospect