GREENFIELD — With a unanimous vote, nurses at Baystate Franklin Medical Center ratified the Massachusetts Nurses Association contract with Baystate Health.
The nurses’ union announced that 100% of votes cast were in favor of adopting the agreement, which was reached with the hospital last month after more than a year of negotiations.
“This contract and our unanimous vote represent an amazing victory for patients, nurses and the Franklin County community,” Suzanne Love, an emergency department RN and co-chair of the MNA Bargaining Committee, said. “We stayed united throughout months of negotiations and community organizing because our patients need safe staffing.”
The three-year contract, which was backdated to January 2026, will run through December 31, 2028. Negotiations for the next contract are expected to begin in approximately a year and a half. The prior contract expired at the end of 2025, and the union worked under monthly extensions during negotiations.
In the final contract, the nurses’ union was able to secure higher pay consistent with what’s offered by other hospitals under the Baystate system, stable nurse-patient ratios, and increased staffing in the ER and mental health unit.
The contract includes an average pay increase of 6.2% for nurses in the first year, backdated to January, and a total 13% increase over the entire three-year contract.
By comparison, previous offers from Baystate Health included a $3 hourly raise for 2026. That increase would be followed by a 3% bump in 2027 and another 3.5% raise in 2028. The Bargaining Committee had continued to push for increased pay throughout the negotiations, citing pay disparity between different Baystate Health locations.
According to job postings listed on the Baystate Health website earlier this year, nurses at Baystate Franklin are hired with pay ranging from $37.98 to $62.87 an hour, while at other locations in Palmer, Ware and Springfield, registered nurse positions are listed with a range from $41.82 to $66.30 an hour.
The contract also included a new $4.50 differential for per diems, increased compensation for on-call staff, and added a nurse for the 3 to 11 p.m. shift in the ER and a dedicated 12-hour admissions nurse in the mental health unit.
“Nurse solidarity and the tremendous support of our community made this contract possible,” Marissa Potter, an obstetrics RN and Co-Chair of the MNA Bargaining Committee, said. “We are grateful to everyone who joined us to secure these improvements. Baystate Franklin nurses are proud to have fought for our patients, and we look forward to putting these protections into place for the people who depend on Baystate Franklin.”
