FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 27, 2024
Bellefontaine, Ohio –– Union nurses at Mary Rutan Hospital, represented by the Ohio Nurses Association (ONA) and AFT, voted on November 19 to ratify a new four-year contract focused on improving working conditions, addressing understaffing, and ensuring patient care remains in the hands of skilled healthcare professionals—not machines.
“This contract takes critical steps to address the challenges we face as nurses,” said Tara Davis, RN, Co-Chair of the Mary Rutan nurses’ union bargaining team. “Bedside nursing is about compassionate, human care, and we made sure this agreement protects that principle. We also secured pay raises and preserved our benefits to help recruit new nurses and retain experienced ones, which is critical to addressing the staffing crisis.”
Key provisions of the agreement include:
- Protection Against Automation: The hospital is required to collaborate with the union before implementing artificial intelligence or virtual nursing programs, ensuring skilled professionals cannot be replaced by machines without union input.
- Wages and Benefits Tied to Staffing Needs: Improvements to the wage scale and differential pay, along with stronger leave and holiday protections, directly address the need to recruit and retain staff to alleviate unsafe workloads.
“This contract isn’t just about pay and benefits—it’s about standing up for the profession of nursing itself,” added Tara Tracey, RN, Co-Chair of the Mary Rutan nurses’ union bargaining team. “We fought to ensure that nurses aren’t replaced by machines and that our patients continue to receive compassionate, high-quality care. These gains also create an environment that supports recruitment and retention, which is essential for addressing understaffing. In addition to this contract, we urgently need the passage of HB 285, which would ensure every Ohio hospital adopts enforceable safe staffing standards.”
“While nurses emphasized that this contract is a critical step forward, establishing legally enforceable safe staffing must be prioritized in hospitals statewide,” said Rick Lucas, BSN, RN, CCRN, ONA President and Executive Director. “Nurses and health professionals should always have a seat at the table anytime decisions are made regarding their practice. This contract shows the power of having frontline voices at the table to advocate for what they need to provide the kind of care our patients deserve. But addressing understaffing requires broader legislative action to hold hospitals accountable statewide.”
The new contract, which applies to the hospital’s 115-member nursing union, will be in effect from December 9, 2024, through December 8, 2028.
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About ONA
Formed in 1904, the Ohio Nurses Association is a powerful network of nurses and health professionals. Our mission is to unite and empower nurses and health professionals, championing their rights, promoting professional practice, and advocating for quality care for all patients in Ohio, while fostering a strong and cohesive professional union community. To learn more or to become a member of the Ohio Nurses Association, visit www.ohnurses.org.
Contact: Michelle Day
Director of Communications & Technology
mday@ohnurses.org