1199SEIU Members Win Wage Increase, Better Healthcare Plan at Johns Hopkins

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Members of 1199SEIU at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital ratified their new union contract by an overwhelming majority last month. “There was a lot of solidarity among workers during our bargaining,” said Emanuel Milford, a surgical technologist who has worked at Hopkins for 20 years, and who helped to negotiate the contract. “We won improvements in our contract, some of which we’ve been fighting for a long time, including a decent wage increase. We know a lot of workers in Baltimore aren’t getting any kind of increase." The agreement, which covers about 2,000 workers -- including environmental service, dietary, surgical techs, pharmacy techs and unit secretaries -- includes a 2.25% wage increase, health care premiums that are the same or lower than in the previous contract, a stronger Labor-Management committee, and improvements to scheduling of shifts. - photo: 1199 members at Johns Hopkins hold prayer vigil for fair pay earlier this year; photo courtesy 1199SEIU; report by Mariya Strauss