After standing together through months of challenging contract negotiations, hospital workers at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach and North Shore Medical Center in Miami recently crossed the finish line hand in hand by approving new union contracts with overwhelming support. The new contracts, which were approved within days of each other and were negotiated by approximately 50 workers from the two Tenet-owned hospitals, invest in caregivers and quality jobs for the South Florida community.



"I have seen significant changes in the healthcare industry since I became a nurse thirty-two years ago, so I'm very happy that we can continue making sure patient care doesn't get lost in the whirlwind of change that is going on around us," said Frank Genung, a registered nurse who has worked at St. Mary's for 20 years.



At a time when middle-class families are struggling to put food on the table, and politicians in Tallahassee continue to take significant healthcare dollars away from the bedside of ailing patients, the new contracts are a strong step forward towards a better future. Standing together as members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the workers at St. Mary's and North Shore have successfully secured good jobs for the community and provided workers with a stronger voice to ensure their patients receive the best care possible.

When asked about some of the positives of the new contract, Jasmine Smith, a patient care technician at North Shore, responded, “The raise and the togetherness,” and added, “Having a good union contract benefits the patients.”



The new contracts include guaranteed wage increases and a preservation of benefits for the life of the contract to retain and attract experienced, highly-skilled nurses and healthcare workers for the benefit of patients and the community.

Philistine Brown, a unit secretary at St. Mary’s was pleased to see many new workers join the union on voting day so they could cast their ballot in support of a new union contract.



“We had a lot of people who came in today to join the union so they could vote because they were not union members. Now they know there’s power in people, and when it comes to patient care, that’s one of the points we wanted to make with our contract. It’s all about patient health and safety, and patients coming first,” said Brown.



Including St. Mary’s, North Shore and five other recently organized Tenet-owned facilities, nearly 4,500 nurses and hospital workers in South Florida are represented by 1199SEIU. Workers at the five newly organized facilities are currently negotiating their first union contract with their employers.



The St. Mary’s and North Shore members are proud to have paved the way for their colleagues, and are looking forward to standing with their brothers and sisters every step of the way.



“When I’m at the [bargaining] table as a union member, I feel stronger,” said Edma Jean, a nursing technician who has worked at North Shore for 24 years. “And with my co-workers who are strong too, together, we can move forward.”