Union Members at Methodist Vote Yes on New Contract!

Record Turnout and Overwhelming Support For 2-Year Agreement

Union members at Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new contract that will last until October, 2011.

“The two-year contract provided employees with annual raises, reigned in employees’ costs for health insurance, preserved earned sick leave, added a new benefit for some of the hospital’s lower-paid workers, addressed staffing issues, and a host of other improvements for over 1,000 employees,” said Sondra Bryant, a registered nurse who served on SEIU Local 205’s bargaining committee.

“This agreement has been the result of tough negotiations that have gone on for nearly two months and we’re glad the membership decided to vote yes,” said Barbie Parman, a unit secretary at Methodist who also served on the union’s bargaining committee. “It’s good to see that the overwhelming vote demonstrates that workers are united and are standing together”.

“Methodist is the only unionized hospital in East Tennessee and it also happens to be one of the state’s top medical facilities,” said Doug Collier, president of SEIU Local 205. “Because we were able to reach consensus with Management with this agreement, we know that Methodist will continue to deliver top-quality health care to the community.”

Overall, members voted for the new contract by a 92% margin. Overall, members voted for the new contract by a 92% margin. The voter turnout surpassed that of the last ratification vote, which happened back in 2006.