Technical staff at the state’s largest hospital are receiving immediate pay raises of as much as 25% due to a newly ratified union contract. The hourly wage of the lowest-paid jobs is expected to rise above $20 by the end of the year.
The three-year contract reached between University of Vermont Medical Center in and around Burlington and the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals runs from March 1, 2023, to April 30, 2026. The agreement affects about 630 clinical and diagnostic employees in about 80 different job types ranging from paramedics and medical coders to radiology and dialysis technicians.
In a press release announcing the new contract, UVMMC President and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Stephen Leffler called the pay increase “the right thing to do” for staff who are “the foundation of our mission to care for our region.”
The boosts were also necessary in a competitive job market where entry-level positions in the service, retail and hospitality sector pay at least that amount.
“It’s not hard to go around and see where people are hiring and what they are paying,” said Nicole DiVita, an ophthalmology technician and vice president of technical professionals for the union. “There are signs everywhere.”
The immediate increases ranged from 6.5% to 25.6%, according to the medical center. Additional raises of 6% in 2024 and 5% in both 2024 and 2025 will be given across the board each October. The largest immediate increases are going to the lowest paid employees to bring their hourly rate up to above $20 per hour after the next increase in October.
The jump is also an attempt to dampen the use of traveling technical staff, who generally cost two to three times the rate of a local, long-term hire. UVMMC employs 58 travelers in technical support positions, according to a spokesperson. There are also 68 open positions in those job types, the equivalent of about 42 full-time equivalents.
DiVita called the agreement a step in the right direction toward meeting the high cost of living in the Burlington area. The union hoped to see a wide-ranging plan for reducing the hospital’s reliance on traveling staff but did not, she said.
While pay increases may lead to higher health care costs for patients, having a well-trained workforce at full strength is also essential, said Mike Fisher, chief health care advocate at Vermont Legal Aid. “It’s a double-edged sword,” he said.
The new agreement does not cover technical employees who voted to join the union in January, representing about 200 mental health workers and pharmacy and laboratory technicians. That group is scheduled to negotiate its own terms through a “side letter” to this contract in coming months, according to the union.
The nontechnical support staff who also voted to join the union in January number about 2,000 workers and are negotiating a separate contract.
UVMMC reached a contract agreement with its nurses’ union in July 2022, though a wage increase of 10% already went into effect in February 2022.
The new technical staff contract also includes provisions that provide them with more workplace safety training and the ability to participate in longer-term workplace safety improvements, DiVita said.
The negotiations, which began in December, also showed the strength of the union.
“It was really an inspiring moment to see everybody come together, not only for the staff here, but for our community, our patients, all of that,” she said.