HYANNIS – A new system-wide agreement that will affect 1,600 healthcare workers on Cape Cod has been ratified by union members at 1199 United Healthcare Workers East.
Officials with the union said that the agreement will maintain the 1199SEIU Training and Upgrading Fund, an educational benefit designed to help members go back to school and enhance their skill sets.
The health insurance program will be preserved, and in some facilities improved, by the new contract.
“At a time when many healthcare systems are experiencing significant financial pressures, the workers were able to secure a contract which improved health insurance benefits, increased the employer’s contributions to the 403(b) plan, and saw wage growth,” said David Smith, a union member at Cape Cod Human Services.
“The contract and all of its provisions passed by an overwhelming margin. This was possible because of the strength of a united bargaining team whose position was not oppositional, but rather one of informed participation in the negotiating process.”
The agreement will also impact workers at Cape Laboratory (C-Lab), Cape Cod Human Services, Falmouth Hospital and Cape Cod Hospital.
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