VT Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals and UVM Medical Center Reach Agreement

Burlington, VT – The Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals’ membership has voted to accept a UVM Medical Center wage proposal in advance of the nurses’ contract expiring this summer. The proposal accepted by the union increases nurse salaries by 10% effective within the next pay period, with an additional 5% increase in October 2022 and another 5% increase in October 2023. The remainder of the contract will be negotiated this summer.

The agreement also includes $5,000 stabilization bonuses to all technical employees, excluding imaging techs, who recently signed a side letter agreement with wage increases. The technical employees’ contract will expire next winter as planned.

Negotiating one part of a contract separate from the rest is an atypical approach to bargaining. Both UVMMC and the VFNHP cited a desire to accelerate the timeline for increased nurse pay in light of their exemplary front line work during the pandemic and loyalty to their patients and community. The increased wages are also intended to spur recruitment and retention efforts within the hospital through an increased salary.

“The majority of VFNHP members voted yes to accept this wage offer,” said VFNHP President Deb Snell, RN. “We appreciate that UVMMC recognized the need to increase our base wages to keep our staff here at the medical center and we truly hope that this will make nurses who were maybe thinking of leaving decide to stay. We are looking forward to sitting down at the table this spring and bargaining the rest of our contract. I believe that both sides recognize there is still work to be done and we will be ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work this spring.”

“I am glad we were able to reach an agreement and that we can get wage increases out to our nursing and technical employees now, as they continue to work incredibly hard to care for our community during this challenging time,” said Stephen Leffler, MD, President and Chief Operating Officer of the UVM Medical Center.

“During negotiations in December, we heard concerns from the union’s bargaining team about conditioning wage increases on a full contract extension through July 2024, and removed that condition from the proposal,” Leffler added.

Members of the media are invited to a joint media availability later today with representatives from UVMMC and VFNHP.