TRENTON — St. Mary’s Medical Hospital in Passaic, one of its employee unions, and the medical center’s potential buyer announced today they had reached a tentative labor contract.
Gov. Chris Christie’s administration is still reviewing Prime Healthcare Services’ proposal to buy the struggling hospital and could reject the deal. The purchase must still be approved by New Jersey’s Department of Health, the state Attorney General, and the Vatican.
But JNESO, District Council 1 IUOE-AFL-CIO negotiated with both St. Mary’s and Prime, the California-based for-profit hospital chain. The contract still needs the approval of the union’s 356 nurses and 147 technicians, who are meeting Thursday.
JNESO’s Executive Director Virginia Treacy called the agreement “a fair contract settlement. … Prime recognizes the quality of healthcare delivered by our members to Passaic and the surrounding communities. We are hopeful that this is the start of a long a productive relationship with the new owners.”
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Details of the pact were not disclosed.
Ed Condit, president and CEO of St. Mary’s Hospital, called the pact “a major step forward for Prime’s acquisition of St. Mary’s Hospital. Now that every section of our team is unified behind the agreement and acquisition, we will all work towards joining Prime Healthcare’s award-winning health system.”
Prime’s CEO and President Prem Reddy acknowledged in a statement that “St. Mary’s nurses and staff have worked extraordinarily hard to serve the Passaic community despite the hospital’s financial troubles. We look forward to collaborating hand-in-hand with the union to make sure St. Mary’s Hospital builds upon its mission to provide excellent patient care to Passaic and the surrounding communities.”
Article Date: April 15, 2013