■ Candice Owley, president of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals and chair of AFT Healthcare's program and policy council, has been appointed to the executive board of Public Services International. She is the titular representative for the United States. Owley, an AFT vice president, is also a representative on PSI's World Women's Committee.

■ In March, 601 nurses represented by the Federation of Nurses/UFT at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn were preparing to strike over the hospital's proposal to convert the nurses' defined-benefit plan to a defined-contribution or 401(k)-type plan. That strike was averted when management dropped the proposal.

This was not the first time the hospital attacked the nurse's pension plan. In 2001, Lutheran's nurses voted overwhelmingly to reject participation in a defined-contribution plan. It was a stance the hospital's members repeated this year.

"They disrespected us, and we made sure management understood we'd strike over the issue," special representative Anne Goldman told New York Teacher.

Bargaining concluded once the pension issue was resolved, and the negotiating committee unanimously recommended a new three-year contract just days before the old contract expired. There were only 15 "no" votes at the Feb. 24 ratification vote.

The new three-year deal provides staff nurses 3 percent raises each Jan. 1, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2007, and a final 1 percent raise effective July 1, 2009. Per-diem RNs will also see their rates in-crease to $48 per hour, effective March 1, 2008.

Healthcare benefits were strengthened in the new agreement, which stipulates the hospital will increase its health-fund contributions each year.

■ The nurses and health professionals represented by New Jersey's Health Professionals and Allied Employee Locals 5089 and 5084 recently achieved contract settlements with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). Both contracts will expire June 30, 2010. Two years into each contract, the locals and the UMDNJ will have a contract re-opener regarding wages, retiree health benefits and other issues. HPAE Local 5089 represents 1,200 registered nurses at University Hospital in Newark and other UMDNJ healthcare facili-ties in the state. The university's 2,400 non-nursing professional employees, including medical researchers, medical health professionals, IT professionals and administrative titles, are repre-sented by HPAE Local 5094. The RN contract settlement includes a 3 percent increase and stronger contract language on staffing, overtime, transfers, and health and safety. Important gains in job security/layoff language and promotional opportunities were also achieved by the non-nursing professionals.