Board of Regents proposes no salary raise for UIHC nurses

The Board of Regents on Friday proposed giving no salary raise to thousands of nurses and other professional employees at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for the next two years.

The board made that offer as part of its initial proposal for the 2015-2017 contract with the Service Employees International Union, Local 199, which covers about 3,000 workers.

'This is the beginning of our dialogue,” said Tom Evans, general counsel for the Board of Regents Office. 'Where we're going to end up, I don't know. But these are the beginning points from each side. I don't want anyone to get excited and decide they're going to quit their job because they heard there's a proposal for no pay increase.”

The union kicked off negotiations earlier this month by asking for a 4.75 percent salary increase for all returning employees for each of the contract's two years. It requested a 3 percent increase for minimum salaries, like those for new employees.

Union chapter President Cathy Glasson said Friday she's still hopeful the two sides will have fruitful discussions behind closed doors that will lead to improved compensation for members.

'But I don't totally understand why they came in with zero percent,” Glasson said. 'That sends a message that they don't really care about the nursing staff.”

In addition to its proposed pay raise, the union's proposal clarified policy language to allow all employees to request overtime pay, it amended the vacation policy to provide compensation for unused time and it provided new incentives to improve nurse-to-patient ratios. The union also asked for more flexibility to meet with hospital leadership on topics related to employee health and safety - like the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa and how the hospital is preparing.

The board's counter proposal, presented to a crowd of dozens of nurses Friday, did not include changes to the health and safety portion of the contract or address any of the union's other requests.

'This is typical,” Glasson said. 'But we were disappointed. We were hopeful that behavior might change.”

Although the board proposed no salary increase for the next two years in the text of its proposed contract, it did appear to include some wage increases in the portion of the contract that lists maximum and minimum salaries for various job classifications. Most of the increases are about 2.4 percent and for employees making the maximum wage.

Union officials said they're unclear how those numbers mesh with the board's proposed zero-percent salary increase, and board officials didn't answer questions from the media Friday - saying the matter is to be negotiated between the two sides.

Glasson said the board might be adjusting salaries that were below the market rate.

'Maybe they're not being paid appropriately right now,” Glasson said. 'We'll want to know how they decided who goes up and who doesn't.”

During the last round of negotiations two years ago, the union proposed a 3 percent increase for both years while the board proposed a 2 percent increase the first year and a 2.5 percent increase the second year. The board's proposal prevailed after the two sides went to arbitration.

Glasson said the union has analyzed wages for hospital administrators and found that, in some cases, salaries increased 5 to 8 percent in the last year.

'We are going to discuss that,” she said. 'If you can do that at the top, you can have a wage increase for the people who really make this place work.”

Wendy Netolicky, a registered UIHC nurse, said she was appalled by the board's initial proposal.

'Coming in with no raise is a slap in the face,” she said. 'It shows a lack of appreciation for what nurses do.”

The next round of talks is scheduled for Dec. 2.