HONOLULU — Hawaii state nurses have ratified a new labor contract that includes 4 percent raises.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper reports that only two of the 1,700 nurses in the Hawaii Government Employees Association bargaining unit 9 voted against the contract.
HGEA executive director Randy Perreira estimates that between 19,000 and 20,000 public workers represented by the union remain in negotiations.
Perreira says he hopes settlements are reached for additional units in time to be funded by the state Legislature before the May 7 conclusion of the current session.
The contract that was ratified includes “step movements” that allow nurses to move up the pay ladder.
The union represents nurses in the state’s network of hospitals. Those include state prisons, Maui and Hilo Memorial Medical Centers, and the Hawaii State Hospital.