Tentative agreement reached with striking nurses at Madison’s Meriter Hospital 

A tentative agreement has been reached between striking nurses and management at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital in Madison. 

The nurses, represented by the Service Employees International Union of Wisconsin, had been on strike since Tuesday, citing hospital security and safety, staffing and wage demands as reasons.

The striking nurses will return to work Sunday morning, according to Pat Raes, the president of SEIU-Wisconsin and a nurse at the hospital.

“Both sides compromised, worked together and came up with language that was acceptable to both,” Raes said during a Saturday press conference.

“We are grateful for the dedication and hard work of everyone involved in the negotiations,” Sherry Casali, a market chief nursing officer at Meriter, wrote in a statement. “This tentative agreement represents meaningful progress toward a contract that recognizes the important contributions of our nurses.” 

Amber Anderson, a member of the union bargaining team and nurse at the hospital, said management has agreed to address “key safety and security concerns.”

“We were able to win new language to continue to build upon, that provides an opportunity to collaboratively work towards safety and security solutions,” Anderson said. 

“We also achieved an across-the-board wage increase that truly reflects the dedication, skill and compassion we bring to our work every day,” she added. 

In a statement, management at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital said the agreement is still subject to a vote by members of the union. 

“We respect the union’s process and look forward to the outcome of their decision,” the statement said. “We believe this is a strong, fair contract that demonstrates the value and respect we have for the nurses on our team.” 

Raes said they hope to finish the ratification vote for the agreement by midnight Saturday.

The union, which represents more than 900 nurses at the hospital, said the strike is the first in the hospital’s history. Operations continued inside the hospital with the help of traveling nurses.

“Transition plans are underway to make this a smooth process as we bring our full team back together to care for our patients,” the hospital statement said.