Union hails ‘life changing’ pay hikes under new contract at Faulkner Hospital

After months of negotiations and a series of walkouts, healthcare workers at Faulkner Hospital have reached a three-year contract agreement with officials at the Jamaica Plain facility.

The agreement, which union members will be voting to ratify Thursday and Friday, will increase wages by a 10% minimum this year and expand benefits for nearly 500 workers. Members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East reached the deal with Brigham and Women’s leaders last Friday.

“I feel a tremendous amount of pride and security after winning this contract,”  Faulkner medical assistant Sandra Guy said in a release. “I am truly grateful that we have a union, to have a voice to ensure we are respected and paid what we are worth.”

Many union members participated in a walkout in January and another in February, both during lunch break, calling on leadership to deliver greater wages, benefits and working conditions.

Positions represented in the union – personal care attendants, unit service techs, dietary workers, mental health workers, and others – were among the lowest paid at the hospital, earning as little as $15.45 an hour.

The new agreement will establish a minimum wage of $18.10 by April 2025, meaning the contract carries more weight than what the union sought when it held its January walkout. At the time, a union official told the Herald his members were seeking to win a $2 raise for all positions.

Wage increases are likely to vary between some positions due to annual step movement and other adjustments, according to the union.

Andrew Rogers, a pharmacy technician, said he will be receiving a 21% pay increase with the contract, with other pharmacy techs also slated to get double-digit increases.

“This is life changing for most of us,” he said.

An ongoing staffing shortage at the facility served as a key driving factor behind the union’s pleas. In mid January, there were just 513 Faulkner workers part of the union, down from 620 pre-pandemic in February 2020, an official said.

Under the agreement, workers will receive an increase in training pay to help onboard new hires.

“This is a victory for caregivers, those they care for, and the future of care in Massachusetts, said Tim Foley, executive vice president of 1199SEIU.