After a nearly two-year battle with East Liverpool City Hospital, the nurses represented by the Ohio Nurses Association (ONA) ratified a three-year agreement Friday evening.

The agreement is an improvement upon the hospital's previously-rejected final offer that left these nurses with no contract for over a year and a half.

With this new agreement, the nurses were able to secure the following:

- A new wage scale with nurses receiving a minimum 5% increase

- A retroactive wage increase date of June 12, 2022

- Protections if health care plans change and a cap on potential increased costs through the terms of the agreement

- Improvements in tuition reimbursement and differentials

- Maintaining contract provisions that recognize nurses' legal and ethical obligation to advocate for their patients and requiring the hospital to involve nurses in decisions affecting changes in the delivery of care

- Maintaining and improving other important working conditions that allow nurses to have a healthy work-life balance

In addition, the hospital has committed to bargain with ONA over the allocation of a portion of a one-time payment from the Ohio Department of Medicaid received by the hospital in June.

The payment was made out to the hospital in accordance with House Bill 169 requiring the payment to be used as "workforce incentive payments" and must be used for direct care staff.

East Liverpool Nurse's Association President, Bobbie Kerns says this has been a long and hard journey and praised union nurses for continuing to fight for the cause.

"The nursing profession is in crisis with more than 40% considering leaving the profession. It's more important than ever for changes that will recruit and retain nurses at the bedside," Kerns said.

In February, the hospital was ordered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to bargain in good faith, read a statement out loud guaranteeing the hospital wouldn't violate nurses' federal labor rights and pay over $170,000 in backpay to the nurses after originally denying any wrongdoing.

Over 40 received between $1,000 and over $5,000 in backpay.