BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- After 20 months of contentious negotiations, including a one-day strike last summer, there is a tentative deal between Tufts Medical Center and the nurses who work there.
Barbara Tiller, a nurse at Tufts Medical Center who is on the union negotiating team, told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 that the 1,200 nurses affected will vote on the tentative agreement on January 3.
The contract would last for three years and nine months.
"We definitely are happy with the staffing language that we acquired," Tiller said. "We're happy with the settlement of the pension and retirement issues, and we're also happy with the financial package."
Things got nasty at times, but Tiller said the nurses and Tufts came to an agreement at City Hall on Monday as guests of Mayor Marty Walsh.
"I think it's a Christmas present for everyone involved, actually," said Tiller. "I think it's going to bring some peace to the institution and I tihnk it's going to make our nurses happy and probably improve recruitment and retention."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports