Media Contact: Michael Schwartzberg, GBMC Media Relations Manager
(O): 443-849-2126/Cell: 410-258-3465
Greater Baltimore Medical Center Announces
Contract Settlement With SEIU Local 1199
BALTIMORE, Md. – February 7, 2007 - Greater Baltimore Medical Center and the Service Employees International Union 1199 have reached a contract settlement for employees covered by the collective bargaining agreement. The settlement, reached the evening of January 31 and ratified by union membership on February 6, comes following 14 negotiating sessions covering more than 50 hours. Talks between Local 1199 and GBMC began in October of 2006.
With the new contract, GBMC is the first Baltimore hospital to participate in a training upgrade fund for union employees, which will provide financial support to staff covered by the contract to improve job skills and prepare them for potential promotions. GBMC is also the first Baltimore area hospital to agree to a $10 per hour minimum starting rate beginning in the first year of the contract.
The three-year contract provides for a three percent wage adjustment each year of the contract and market adjustments ranging from two to five percent in the first year of the agreement. For staff holding union-eligible positions, employee contributions to the Kaiser Permanente health plans offered by GBMC will be frozen for one year and capped at 15 percent in each of the next two years.
“We worked in a true spirit of collegiality and mutual respect with the union in achieving a fair settlement for our employees,” said Mark Thomas, GBMC’s vice president of human resources and organizational development.
Approximately 450 GBMC employees work in bargaining-unit eligible positions, with about 250 members represented as dues-paying members. Included are positions in such areas as environmental service, food service, materials management, patient transport, unit secretaries, and other ancillary services.About GBMC
GBMC includes Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC), Central Maryland’s leading community hospital; Hospice of Baltimore, which provides comfort and care to patients with life-limiting illnesses; and the GBMC Foundation, which supports the GBMC mission by managing fundraising efforts. The 292-bed Medical Center, located on a beautiful suburban campus, serves nearly 22,000 inpatients annually and provides approximately 60,000 emergency room visits. For more information, go to www.gbmc.org
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 GBMC includes Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Hospice of Baltimore and the Gilchrist Center, GBMC Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Community Health Center and GBMC Foundation.
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