Ascension offer to Joliet nurses includes double-digit pay increases for some

Pay increases offered at Ascension Saint Joseph – Joliet are at 19% for entry-level and 17% for middle-tier nurses, hospital management said Wednesday.

Union nurses vote this week on what Ascension called its “last, best and final offer” after contract talks have lasted eight months.

The Illinois Nurses Association is recommending a vote against the contract, and the two sides have offered opposite views on whether Ascension is addressing nurses’ issues.

“We have listened and heard our nurses, and have held productive two-way conversations with their INA representatives,” Ascension said in a statement released by spokesman Timothy Nelson.

According to the statement, Ascension officials “agree there were issues to address, which we have done in our final proposal.”

INA chief negotiator John Fitzgerald said the company proposal comes close to bringing pay for entry-level nurses to a competitive level but does not do so for middle-tier nurses. He said the Ascension proposal does not compensate the most senior nurses for past pay freezes.

“They missed the mark because they haven’t been negotiating with us for months,” Fitzgerald said. “This is the first formal proposal in four months, and it’s actually worse than their previous informal proposal.”

In its statement, Ascension said pay increases in the proposal are aimed at addressing nurse recruitment and retention by making pay competitive.

Those pay increases include:

• An almost 19% pay increase in the first year for entry-level nurses, which Ascension said will “ensure market competitive levels and aid with recruitment,” with additional raises in the next two years.

• An almost 17% increase for middle-tier wages that Ascension said “will assist with creating a culture of associate longevity” with additional raises in the next two years.

• A 2% increase in the “market wage rate” for nurses with 30-plus years of experience that would align wages in Joliet with those of other Ascension hospitals and put that wage scale “in the 90th percentile for registered nurses in the region.”

• Additional wage increases and lump-sum bonuses for nurses with 20-plus years of experience.

“Unfortunately, every week that goes by is another week we are unable to implement these wage increases, which not only impacts each of our nurses but also affects Ascension Saint Joseph – Joliet’s ability to competitively hire and retain [registered nurses] from across the region,” according to the statement.

Fitzgerald said the pay increases would not be put into place until February, according to the Ascension proposal, and there will be no retroactive pay for nurses. The nurses’ contract expired in July.