Ohio State nurses union files grievance over Wexner Medical Center incentive pay program

Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (George Shillcock / WOSU )The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center announced that starting on Sunday it would implement an incentive pay program for its nurses that union members had already rejected. Ohio State University Nurses Organization President Alex Watts said the union filed a grievance with the medical center. "We're concerned with the way that this is being implemented because it does not address the needs of nurses and it definitely will not solve the problems that have been created by the administrators," Watts told WOSU. Wexner Medical Center nurses' previous incentive program, which expired in September, paid $32 per hour to fill a vacant shift in the moment, and $40 per hour to sign up for empty shifts ahead of time. The nurses received the additional pay for taking extra shifts on top of their full-time schedules.Watts said the incentive program helped keep staffing at safe levels, which is a requirement in nurses' co