Workers to end strike at three Maui County hospitals | News, Sports, Jobs

UPW workers picket across the entrance to Maui Memorial Medical Center on Feb. 23, the second day of the strike. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Workers at three Maui County hospitals will end their nearly two-month strike after voting to ratify a new three-year contract with hospital operator Maui Health.

Members of the United Public Workers union voted 87 percent in favor of the new agreement, the union said Thursday afternoon.

“The new contract represents months of hard work and determination and is reflective of the sacrifices our members have made during the strike,” UPW State Director Kalani Werner said in a news release. “Our members labored through the pandemic and have had to continue to endure staffing shortages, so while this is a step in the right direction, there is still work to be done.”

The new contract includes pay-scale adjustments for all job classifications, at least a 10.5 percent wage increase for all members and a lump-sum payment for all members, among other benefits, the union said.

“Nothing makes us happier than to have our team back together and whole again,” said Kerry Watson, Maui Health interim CEO. “We are sincerely grateful to both bargaining committees, our own team and the UPW team, for working countless hours over the last ten months to achieve a fair and equitable agreement for our employees.”

The bargaining committees for Maui Health and UPW reached a tentative agreement on Tuesday, and voting concluded Friday afternoon on both Maui and Lanai, according to Maui Health.

The union represents nearly 500 workers at Maui Memorial Medical Center, Kula Hospital and Lanai Community Hospital, with nurses aides, respiratory therapists, licensed practical nurses, housekeepers and cooks among their members.

For more on this story, see The Weekender edition of The Maui News on Saturday.

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