NBA Update: Our Benefits. Our Fight.

With the January 30 deadline now passed, health employers are continuing their push to have Arbitrator Vince Ready make a decision on nurses’ benefits.

They are pressing Arbitrator Ready to decide on Appendix U.1 and we expect he may soon order participation in an arbitration, despite nurses being clear that benefits should be negotiated at the bargaining table.

To be clear, as of this update, no hearing dates have been set, and no direction has been issued by Arbitrator Vince Ready.

The Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) has refused to agree to choose between two benefit options outlined in Appendix U.1 or any dates for their implementation.

As a result, Ready is expected to schedule a hearing where both parties would present their arguments. From there, Ready could ultimately order one of the two options under Appendix U.1: the creation of an enhanced flex benefits account, or the introduction of a reimbursement limit on massage therapy. That is a real possibility, and it is something we are actively preparing for.

However, any decision by Ready would not result in immediate changes to nurses' benefits, and it would not end this fight. We will continue to press at the bargaining table for improvements to benefits and to push to restore and strengthen what nurses rely on. That work would continue through bargaining and, if necessary, through job action.

At the next bargaining dates with the employer, scheduled for early March, your NBA bargaining committee plans to table a proposal to strike Appendix U.1 in its entirety. This is a direct response to the employers’ approach and a clear statement that benefits are nurses’ number one priority in this bargaining round.

We are fighting for our benefits now, and we will continue to fight no matter what comes next.

Job action preparation

As bargaining continues for the NBA, and other bargaining associations in the health sector, it's important that members are prepared for the possibility of job action. As a first step, members are encouraged to update their contact information through the HSA Member Contact Update Form.