RNs at MedStar Washington Hospital Center voted overwhelmingly in favor of a new three-year contract that includes a commitment to hire at least 1,350 nurses

Registered nurses at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying a new three-year contract yesterday, winning protections to improve patient safety and nurse retention announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU].

“We are proud to have a strong contract that will help recruit and retain nurses,” said Mentwab “Mimi” Dinka, RN in the hospital’s float pool and a member of the bargaining team. “With MedStar management’s commitment to hire 450 nurses each year, we will have optimal staffing so we can provide our patients and community with the care they deserve.”

Highlights of the contract include:

• Commitment to hire at least 450 registered nurses each year, which means at least 1,350 RNs will be hired by 2025
• Improvements to workplace safety, including new workplace violence language and increased security in the emergency department
• No contract takeaways
• Across-the-board wage increases over the life of the contract, ranging from 15 to 33 percent.

The new pact covers the period March 12, 2023 to March 2026.

“We have been fighting to ensure that nurse preceptors are compensated for mentoring and training new nurses,” said Stephanie Sims, RN in the neonatal intensive care unit at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and a member of the bargaining team. “For the first time in our contract, our preceptors will be paid for their valuable role in training the next generation of nurses.

NNOC represents more than 1,800 nurses at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.

National Nurses Organizing Committee is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with nearly 225,000 members nationwide.