Magee-Womens Hospital nurses set union contract deadline with UPMC

PITTSBURGH — Nurses at Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh have set a deadline for UPMC to reach a union contract.

Around 900 nurses and advanced practitioners voted to unionize last year. Contract negotiations with UPMC launched in January, with nurses using an online survey to collect community input.

On Friday, the union announced July 4 as the deadline for UPMC to reach a contract, or they will “take action for their patients and profession,” according to a release from SEIU Healthcare PA.

The union’s proposals include certain minimum staffing levels, such as one nurse for every laboring/induced woman and one nurse for every one or two newborns needing intensive care.

Nurses claim these standards are data-driven and protect patient safety and quality of care.

They’ve also proposed a number of benefit and compensation improvements meant to retain staff amid nationwide staffing shortages.

Nurses claim that staffing and retention improvements are necessary to address a growing maternal and infant health crisis, demonstrated by higher rates of preterm births, low birth weights and cancer in women in Allegheny County versus the state.

“Our patients can’t wait – we are experiencing the crisis facing moms and babies every single day on the front lines,” Liana Montes, a labor and delivery nurse at Magee, said. “... As the largest health system in our Commonwealth, as well as the biggest private employer, UPMC has both the resources and the moral responsibility to show leadership in working with us toward solutions.”

UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital President Dr. Richard Beigi provided Channel 11 with this statement:

“Given the proposals the union has presented, the limited progress so far, and the complexity of the issues being negotiated for two distinct bargaining units, this July 4 deadline is arbitrary, unrealistic, and not a serious attempt to get to a final agreement. The parties started negotiations on Jan. 21 – about 100 days ago – and have agreed on one issue so far. A union contract typically contains dozens of separate issues to be resolved, and research shows it takes on average more than 500 days to reach a first contract in health care. We remain committed to negotiating in good faith; we hope the union is as well.”

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