GREENFIELD, Mass. (AP) - Unionized nurses at a western Massachusetts hospital have reached a contract deal with management after about 18 months of contentious negotiations and a pair of one-day strikes.
The five-year deal between Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield and about 200 nurses represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association was announced Wednesday.
The deal still needs to be ratified by union membership.
The deal addresses differences over staffing, health insurance and wages.
Union bargaining committee co-chairwoman Donna Stern called the deal “a huge victory for Baystate Franklin patients, nurses and our entire community.”
Baystate Health, the hospital’s parent company, said the staffing agreements “maintain our flexibility to address individual patient care needs in a sustainable way.”
The ratification vote is scheduled for Tuesday.
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