Tenet Healthcare has reached a tentative labour agreement with Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), a union coalition for Tenet’s workers, offering significant wage increases for its employees.
The SEIU-UHW announced that the tentative settlement includes across-the-board raises of 14% over the next three years for both full and part-time workers at Tenet.
In addition, the agreement stipulates a 5% raise for the first and second years, followed by a 4% increase in the third year for full and part-time employees.
Per diem workers are set to receive a 2.5% raise in the first two years and a 2% raise in the third year.
The union has also secured a ratification bonus of $750 for full-time employees while part-time and per diem employees will receive ratification bonuses of $500 and $250, respectively.
Further details of the agreement include a $1 per hour increase to all stand-by rates each year of the contract.
The union further ensured that there would be no reductions in workers' benefits, maintaining the current benefits for the duration of the contract.
This settlement concludes nearly a year of negotiations between Tenet Healthcare and the SEIU-UHW.
A Reuters report noted that the healthcare sector has been at the forefront of a broader labour movement in the US, where unions have become increasingly assertive in their demands, particularly in the past two years.
This trend, driven by the need to address inflation and maintain spending power, has seen significant developments, including the recent agreement with Kaiser Permanente's healthcare workers to ratify a new contract after several months-long negotiation.
Tenet Healthcare, a Dallas-based healthcare services company, employs approximately 106,500 individuals across the US and the district of Columbia.
Its network includes United Surgical Partners International, as well as 160 outpatient facilities, approximately 58 acute care and speciality hospitals, an employed physician network, and a global business centre in Manila, Philippines.
Tenet Healthcare recently concluded the sale of its six hospitals, along with related operations in California, US, to UCI and Adventist.
