UTICA, N.Y. — Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) and the Communication Workers of America (CWA) and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) unions — which represent nursing positions at St. Luke’s Hospital and technical and service/maintenance jobs at St. Luke’s and St. Elizabeth — have reached an agreement on a new three-year contract.
The membership of both unions ratified the pact on Thursday.
“We are pleased to reach this agreement with CWA/UFCW after a positive negotiation period,” MVHS President/CEO Darlene Stromstad said in a news release. “Our nurses and staff have gone above and beyond during an extremely difficult time in healthcare and have shown great resilience and caring. This contract not only makes significant investments in these employees through increased wages and specialty pay, but it also creates standard job titles, pay grades, and benefits across the campuses.”
Stromstad said those changes are critical as MVHS prepares to consolidate to one hospital with the opening of the Wynn Hospital next year.
The MVHS release did not provide details on the size of the pay increases or other financial terms of the contract.