The Backus Federation of Nurses at Backus Hospital, Norwich, Conn., have secured their first collective bargaining contract which includes safe working provisions as well as professional and economic standards. These provisions will help to recruit and retain experienced RNs, AFT Connecticut announced today. AFT Connecticut is the largest representative of acute care hospital workers in Connecticut.

The three-year contract, which affects 400 RNs at the hospital, was achieved just over one year after Backus Nurses voted to unionize and 10 months of negotiations.

“This has been a long battle for us as a union, said John Brady, an RN in the Emergency Department. “The support we received from AFT Connecticut and AFT nationally was instrumental in our success.”

The contract recognizes the obligation of both the union and the hospital to provide a safe working environment. Workplace safety has become an important issue for healthcare workers as incidents of injuries to RNs has increased over the last few years. AFT Connecticut lobbied for state legislation to improve workplace safety in hospitals.

The contract also creates a Labor Management committee where the RNs can meet with management to discuss ways to improve patient safety and care in the hospital. A new study released by Cornell University shows that Labor Management partnerships can be beneficial to both nurses and the institution while improving patient care and controlling costs. The study is titled How Labor-Management Partnerships Improve Patient Care, Cost Control and Labor Relations and was released February 2012. The report makes several case studies out of hospitals where Labor – Management partnerships have led to real results.

"Both of these provisions will give us a voice in making our hospital the community hospital it once was," said Michelle Hayes, an RN in maternity and delivery. "We will be able to get back to focusing on putting patients first."

The tentative agreement was overwhelmingly ratified by a vote of the nurses May 16, took effect immediately.