WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
After working without a contract since March, nurses at Three Rivers Beacon Health have ratified a new contract.
Following several weeks of negotiations and an informational picket last month, the three-year contract takes effect immediately.
According to union officials, the new agreement includes raises, improvement to health insurance and a limit on nurses forced to work overtime.
About 75 nurses at the Three Rivers medical-care facility are members of the Michigan Nurses Association. They had been working without a contract since a three-year agreement expired at the end of March.
Pay for registered nurses will increase an average of 12.6 percent over the next three years and puts Three Rivers nurses near the top of the regional market, union officials said.
Nurses will also receive higher pay for mandated hours.
The Michigan Nurses Association says it is the first contract Beacon negotiated in the state since the system acquired four southwest Michigan Ascension facilities.
