After months of negotiation about nurses’ pay, vacation time, rest shifts and other issues, the Washington State Nurses Association reached a tentative agreement with the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) last Thursday.

Lasting late into the night, the nurses at the medical center came away from the negotiations getting what they wanted.

“The agreements are tentative until the union membership votes to ratify the contract,” UWMC Chief of Nursing Officer Lorie Wild wrote in an e-mail.

The key points of contention in the negotiations were in regards to proposed changes by the UWMC to reduce the current rest shifts and benefits of its registered nurses.

Citing the 11-hour minimum rest between shifts as required by the European Union, Wild wrote: “[UWMC] want to standardize the minimum length of time nurses have between shifts to help staff get the rest they need.”

Yet the WSNA says that the hospital was advocating for a reduction in the current length of the nurses’ rest time, which the nurses sought to keep the same.

Studies show a correlation between reduced rest hours for nurses and negative patient outcomes, according to a press release from the Nursing Association about the tentative agreement.

Such evidence allowed the association to negotiate for no reduced hours for nurses at the medical center.

In addition, the hospital management’s proposed reduction of nurses’ vacation time and time off work for illnesses were not included in the agreement. The only significant change made in the tentative contract was an increase in the nurses’ economic package.

The Nursing Association represents more than 1,200 Registered Nurses working at the UW Medical Center. If a majority vote is obtained, the contract will go into effect on July 1, 2009 until June 30, 2011.

“[The WSNA] will be educating nurses and recommending that nurses vote in favor of the contract,” said Anne Tan Piazza, director of governmental affairs and communications at the nursing association.

Originally set to take place Sept. 15, negotiations were postponed until last Thursday, due to a lack of agreement between both parties, said a source from the Nursing Association, who wished to remain anonymous. Because negotiations are a process, such postponements aren’t unusual, she added.

Many representatives of the Nursing Association were reluctant to comment prior to the negotiations in fear of giving away information.

In a Sept. 14 press release the association protested the UWMC’s proposed cutbacks and criticized the hospital for failing to pay its nurses a competitive wage.

“UWMC’s current wages are 8 percent below other Seattle area hospitals,” according to the press release.

Though the UWMC proposed a 4 percent increase in pay to its nurses over the next two years, the Nursing Association maintained that the pay increase would still fall short of a competitive wage. Given the nation’s current shortage of nurses, the association warned that it would be difficult to retain nurses without competitive pay.

After Thursday’s negotiations, the nurses came away with a 7.5 percent pay increase that would last for the duration of their contract, if accepted.

Though nothing will be finalized until union members ratify the contract Oct. 15, both the WSNA and hospital management at UWMC anticipate that the nurses will accept the agreement.

Reach reporter Sue Yang at news@dailyuw.com.