MARQUETTE — Members of the Marquette ancillary staff and technologists at UP Health System-Marquette voted to ratify a new union contract on Thursday.

The contract covers the next four years and three months and includes wage increases of 18.75 percent over the course of the contract to improve staff recruitment and retention, moving to the same health insurance that the hospital’s nurses receive, as well as additional improvements.

Both MAST and the registered nurses at the hospital had been bargaining with UPHS since March. The two unions are part of the Michigan Nurses Association. The RNs ratified their contract on Sept. 5. MAST members approved the contract following all-day voting that ended late in the evening on Thursday.

“Through the solidarity of our union and the support of our community, we were able to achieve a strong contract that will hopefully bring more techs to work at the hospital and to stay working here, which will translate to better care for patients,” said Josh Bowman, a medical laboratory scientist at the hospital, MAST president, and an MNA board member, in Friday’s press release. “We appreciate the amazing community support over these months of bargaining. This contract moves UPHS-Marquette techs forward in a way that everyone can feel proud of.”