Pay Raise on the Way for Local 1489 Members 12/22/2015

An agreement reached today between AFSCME Council 93 Local 1489 and the Boston Medical Center (BMC) will provide a number of current members of the Local with a meaningful pay raise and set a new minimum starting hourly rate of $15.12 for all new part-time, full-time and per-diem employees at the hospital.

Under the agreement, approximately 130 existing Local 1489 members who are currently earning below the new starting wage will see their pay increase to the next wage step that is closest too but in excess of the new $15.12 per hour minimum rate. The lowest current starting rate for an AFSCME member at BMC is currently $13.24 per hour.

AFSCME Council 93 Executive Director Frank Moroney lauded the agreement and praised BMC leaders for taking a pro-active approach with the union to address the wages of workers. "This agreement represents a 14% increase in the starting rate for our lowest paid members and will put our current and future members at BMC more than 33% ahead of the new state $10.00 hourly minimum wage scheduled to be implemented on January 1," said Council 93 Executive Director Frank Moroney. "We are currently under a contract agreement with the hospital that will not expire until September of 2016 so management was under no obligation to provide these increases at this time. Their actions are a strong indication that they respect the important work our members do and they understand the connection between decent wages and attracting and retaining quality employees.
These pay increases are also a testament to the strength of our union."

The more than 700 AFSCME members at BMC work in a wide-array of important positions including but not limited to dietary aides, certified nursing assistants, housekeeping and pharmacy technicians.