Labor contract approved at two Kansas City area hospitals

Nearly 1,000 maintenance and food workers, patient care assistants and others are covered by recently approved three-year contracts at Research Medical Center and Menorah Medical Center.

The new agreements, which expire in May 2017, are the second three-year contracts agreed to by the Service Employees International Union Missouri & Kansas and the hospitals.

Key agreements included an immediate 6 percent to 7 percent raise for the lowest-paid employees and across-the-board raises for other employees, totaling 5.25 percent by June of next year.

The contract also increased standby pay and reimbursement for the cost of obtaining required job certifications. In addition, covered employees won’t have to pay a larger percentage of their healthcare premiums over the contract’s three years.

SEIU is the nation’s largest union in health care, representing more than 1.1 million members nationally.

This story was originally published October 3, 2014 at 10:36 AM with the headline "Labor contract approved at two Kansas City area hospitals."