A group of 1,500 nurses at Allegheny General Hospital ratified a three-year contract on Monday.
SEIU Healthcare PA says the new agreement, which runs through Oct. 13, 2029, invests $35 million in nurse wages and commits to increasing staffing levels to meet rising patient care needs.
Under the terms of the contract, nurses will receive average total raises of nearly 16% over three years. Those with more than five years of licensure will receive a minimum raise of $8 an hour.
The agreement includes an option for 100% employer-paid coinsurance while preserving existing health benefits, defined benefit pensions and 403(b) plans. It maintains paid time off benefits and ends forced rotating shifts that required nurses to switch between day and night shifts within a single work week. Additionally, the contract includes the hospital’s first agreement regarding artificial intelligence, establishing provisions to protect staffing ratios and clinical judgment.
Prior to reaching the agreement, 99% of voting nurses authorized an informational picket and strike to press for workplace solutions. AGH nurses also campaigned for the passage of 12 weeks of paid parental leave for Allegheny County employees.
Annale Yobbi, a flight nurse who has worked at AGH since 1992 and has 43 years of nursing experience, emphasized the impact of nurse advocacy across the regional hospital network.
“What we achieved in this contract and on parental leave would not have been possible without the tireless advocacy of nurses both at AGH and on the other side of the river, at West Penn and Magee,” Yobbi said. “These victories prove once again that when nurses unite together, speak out and take action, we can raise standards for our patients, our profession and our community.”
The new contract follows a 2023 agreement at AGH that established improved nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and a $40 starting hourly wage for nurses holding a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. That contract helped inspire nearly 1,000 nurses at Magee-Womens Hospital to vote to form a union last year.
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