WORCESTER—More than 1,000 workers at UMass Memorial Medical Center have ratified a new three-year contract with the hospital, avoiding a potential strike that could have begun early next week.
Members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445 voted Friday at Maironis Park in Shrewsbury to approve the agreement, which union leaders say addresses key concerns around wages, outsourcing, and job protections.
The contract guarantees all unit members at least a $1-per-hour raise, plus additional seniority-based pay increases to reward long-term employees. It also strengthens career progression language to prioritize internal promotions over outside hires and preserves current healthcare plans and protections against job outsourcing and automation, according to a press release from the union.
“This agreement reverses a historical trend of going months beyond initial expiration without any long-term resolution,” the union said in its statement. The contract goes into effect Monday, June 9.
UMass Memorial Medical Center also released a statement Monday, saying the new agreement “reflects our organization’s dedication to investing in the wellbeing and professional growth of our caregivers.” The hospital added: “We are grateful for the ongoing efforts of our UFCW caregivers to provide compassionate care and fulfill their essential role in ensuring our health care environment is safe and welcoming.”
The ratification vote came after weeks of labor actions, including rallies, informational picketing, and hand-billing outside the hospital’s University and Memorial campuses. A 10-day strike notice issued by the union last week has now been withdrawn.
Union members also credited the support of the Worcester community, other local labor groups, and hospital unions such as the state healthcare and research employees and Massachusetts Nurses Association, whose solidarity, they said, sent a clear message to hospital leadership.
As previously reported by the Worcester Guardian, union members had expressed frustration over what they called stalled contract negotiations and concerns about wage equity and potential job outsourcing.
“There has been some slight movement on the economics, but we’re still looking at much less than we got last contract,” union bargaining committee member Sue Morrow, a longtime lab support technician, said last week. “Our members have told us very clearly they’re not gonna wait until November again.”
In a statement at that time, UMass Memorial Health acknowledged the union’s right to strike and said it was committed to bargaining in good faith.
The newly ratified deal ensures that no strike will take place, with workers remaining on the job as scheduled.
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