Hats off to the Michigan Nurses Association and UP Health System-Marquette which announced over the weekend that a new contract had been successfully concluded.

Talks started in the spring and proceeded, by all accounts, apace since that time.

Union personnel approved the agreement late last week with the hospital some time earlier.

“This contract makes UPHS-Marquette a more rewarding place to work so we can attract and keep nurses who are committed to our community and making the hospital the best it can possibly be,” said Stephanie DePetro, a nurse, president of the MGH RN Staff Council and vice president of the Michigan Nurses Association Board of Directors. in a statement.

Noted UPHS-Marquette chief executive officer Gar Atchison: “From day one, our leadership team was committed to updating the contract in a way that assured that we could continue providing high-quality care to the community, retain our outstanding, seasoned nurses and be a leader in recruiting clinical talent to our team.”

The new pact, retroactive to June 1, which is when the previous contract expired, includes:

≤ competitive wage increases over the life of the contract;

≤ increased differentials for various shifts, charge nurse duties and specialty certifications; and

≤ an evaluation of RN experience in determining proper placement on the wage scale.

Specifics weren’t provided.

All of this, of course, must be viewed as good news, especially considering previous contract talks between the sides were something less than cordial.

We’re betting the sides came away not with everything they wanted but when something they could live with.

And that is the essence of successful negotiations.