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Gainesville, FL — The Shands Nurses Union, Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 713/Florida Nurses Association, voted to ratify a new three-year contract with UF Health Shands Hospital yesterday covering approximately 3,000 registered nurses. The contract includes $18.3 million in wage and other compensation improvements and $3.3 million to ensure no health insurance premium increases in 2027, among other key improvements.

The contract, bargained over five days, covers 2,952 bedside RNs responsible for making Shands a top Florida hospital. The nurses prioritized demands that would enable them to live comfortably in the community they serve and have access to affordable healthcare to the quality of what they deliver.

“This agreement delivers meaningful improvements for the nurses we represent and builds on the strong foundation they have established over the years,” said Marsha Martin, RN, president of The Shands Nurses Union. “Today's ratification is a testament to what nurses can accomplish when they stand together.”

The Shands Nurses Union doubled its dues-paying members as they developed their collective power throughout bargaining. As a result, nurses will receive a pay increase of $1 to $4 per hour and annual merit-based wage increases of 3.8 percent on average. Nurses achieved a wage re-opener clause allowing for new negotiations in spring 2027.

The contract also continues to strengthen grievance procedures and solidify nurses’ voice in workplace issues impacting nurses. “While our work is never finished, this contract positions us to achieve even more in the future,” Martin added. “As we continue to grow our membership and strengthen our union, we will be even better positioned to advocate for our profession, our patients and every nurse we represent.”

The Shands Nurses Union will continue to build on this victory through strengthening their numbers with the goal of achieving even closer to what they deserve in the next contract.

Newly organized workers are waiting an average 458 days to secure their first contract, with many taking even longer as employers drag out the process thanks to lax labor laws. That’s unacceptable.

Tell your lawmakers it is time to stand with working people and make it easier to get a first contract.

There is bipartisan support in Washington, D.C., to add meaningful leverage for workers in their first contract fights and ensure they get the protections of a union contract in months, not years. The Faster Labor Contracts Act (H.R. 5408; S.R. 844) would create an enforceable timeline for bargaining a first contract. If negotiations are going well, the parties can choose to continue bargaining as normal. If negotiations stall, this bill would refer the dispute to mediation and, ultimately, binding arbitration. A first contract could be settled within a few months.

The good news is the Faster Labor Contracts Act just passed the U.S. House of Representatives, thanks to pressure from working people. The bad news is the Senate has not yet taken action.

It is time to stop employers from union busting by dragging their feet. Ask your senators to add their names to the Faster Labor Contracts Act today.

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler issued the following statement in response to today’s Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections:

Today’s decision is a devastating blow to working families and the stability of our economy. We stand proudly with the valued members of our unions and communities with TPS as we continue the long-term fight for justice. 

By allowing the Trump administration to disregard the law, the court has put the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of workers at risk. TPS holders from Haiti, Syria and other countries came here fleeing danger, instability and crisis. They have built lives here, joined unions, and become integral to our workplaces and economy.

Let’s be clear about who pays the price for this decision: working people. It’s not just wrong—it is a recipe for economic disaster that will create chaos in workplaces, disrupt key industries, and make it easier for bad bosses to exploit fear and drive down workplace standards and conditions for everyone.

The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant agenda seeks to pit working people against each other—but the labor movement rejects that politics of fear. Congress must act immediately to protect TPS holders and stabilize our workforce by creating a broad and swift pathway to citizenship for those whose labor helps our country to prosper. We will keep fighting alongside immigrant workers and their families, because an injury to one is an injury to all.

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Statement online here

Hawai’i Nurses Association/OPEIU Local 50 President Rose Agas-Yuu and OPEIU Local 40 President Dina Carlisle address the 30th AFL-CIO Convention on the bravery and commitment shown by nurses across the United States.  OPEIU represents more than 25,000 nurses and healthcare workers throughout the country.

Today we honor the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees across the globe and in our communities.

Whether refugees are fleeing political persecution, conflict or environmental disasters, OPEIU believes in protecting and defending their human rights at all costs.

Through IRC Workers Unite, a coalition of unionized workers from 15 International Rescue Committee offices, OPEIU supports the fight for refugee rights and the rights of workers who support refugees.