After a very long night, and a full four months of negotiations, our 1199 bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with Hopkins management on a new contract at roughly 2 a.m. on Tuesday, July 8. The four-and-a-half year agreement would dramatically improve wage rates at Hopkins.
Low-paid employees at Hopkins would receive raises as high as 38 percent over the life of the contract. We also won a $15-an-hour minimum wage that will apply immediately to workers with 20 years of service. Workers with 15 years of service will make at least $14.50 in 2015.
“This is an important victory for patients and workers all across Baltimore,” said John Reid, executive vice president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East for the Maryland/DC region. “Johns Hopkins Hospital sets the standard for healthcare in our city and that standard has just been raised.”
Highlights of the agreement include:
- Total raises as high as 38 percent for long-time, low-paid Hopkins workers, a boost of as much as $4.30 an hour over the life of the contract.
- A $14.50 minimum wage in 2015 for workers with 15 years’ experience, whose pay will rise to over $15 an hour in 2017. Current workers will make at least $13/hour by 2018.
- Across-the-board raises of at least 2% every year, with a 2% raise and a 0.5% bonus in the first year of the contract, and a 2.75% raise in 2017.
- An agreement to establish a committee to review market rates for surgical techs, pharmacy techs and other workers whose pay is under market.
The tentative agreement represents a significant improvement over what Hopkins management had called its last, best and final wage offer in early April.
Now Hopkins members will hold a contract ratification vote on Thursday and Friday, July 10 and 11.