'A Well-Deserved Raise:' City, Public Health Nurses Ink Contract Deal

NEW HAVEN, CT — The 45 New Haven public health nurses and the city have reached a new six-year contract agreement. Represented by AFSCME Local 1303-467, the nurses ended up with a three percent general wage increase for 2020, a pay adjustment in the second year, and 2.5 percent increases for the remaining years, including retroactive pay, according to city officials.

Union members unanimously OK'd the deal Dec. 30, and it was unanimously approved by the full Board of Alders Tuesday. It takes effect retroactively from fiscal year 2020 to June 30, 2026.

"Both parties agree the new contract will help attract new employees and bolster efforts to fill 27 vacant positions," a news release reads.

The bargaining unit of 45 public health nursing positions are deployed across public and parochial schools in New Haven, it's noted.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the essential employees worked in the community staffing vaccine clinics, conducting home vaccination visits, conducting contract tracing for thousands of infected residents, and educating the public about the virus through the city’s COVID hotline.

“As nurses, we worked tirelessly 24-hours a day at the beginning of the pandemic,” Local 1303-467 president Cynthia Harris-Jackson said. “We rose to the occasion and served New Haven residents to ensure they were well-informed about COVID and vaccinations. This contract allows us to continue doing what we do best—supporting the health needs of our community.”

Harris-Jackson is a nurse at Conte West Hills Magnet School.

“This is a fair contract, and we are pleased to be compensated at a rate comparable to other nurses across the state in hopes of getting more nurses to apply and come on board,” Harris-Jackson said. “The city truly heard us and understood the changes we requested as a professional unit.”

Also included in the contract are changes to the nurses’ schedules to align with school day hours and preserving the ability of 10-month employees to keep their 10-month status. As of ratification, new public health nurse employees hired will work 12 months and manage health clinics during the summer months.

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said the contract provides a "well-deserved raise, while also ensuring that the City is better able to staff our public health clinics for the community-at-large and for our students all year-round."

“Our nurses provide essential health services and care for thousands of New Haven students and residents, and we are grateful for their dedication and commitment over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been one of the most trying times in our City’s history," Elicker said. "As a New Haven public school parent, it gives me great comfort to know that there’s a highly qualified nurse available to provide medical care at our schools, and I know other New Haven parents feel the same way."

Council 4 Staff Representative Emily Demicco was the bargaining unit’s advocate during contract negotiations. Labor Relations Director Wendella Ault-Battey led contract negotiations for the City of New Haven.

“The New Haven Public Health nurses worked hard from the beginning of the pandemic to ensure the safety and health of all New Haven citizens,” Demicco said. “This agreement goes a long way toward providing the membership with competitive wages in line with the high level of responsibility their jobs require.”