[NRSKarenRN]

Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, Deptember 13th
Troy May
More than 10,000 Northern California nurses will receive major increases in salary, putting some over the $100,000-a-year mark, as part of a proposed contract with their union's largest employer, nonprofit health system Kaiser Permanente.

The California Nurses Association contract, which also includes a ban on mandatory overtime, a new pension plan and early retirement benefits, could set the parameters for future labor negotiations between nurses and their employers.

The new agreement would affect more than 10,600 registered nurses and nurse practitioners at 54 Kaiser facilities in Northern California. Kaiser represents the single largest contract for the nurses union...

http://www.bizjournals.com/industrie...ml?t=printable


TROY MAY covers health care and health sciences for the Business Journal.

[Glad2behere]

WOW! Kinda get the feeling "our ship just came in".

Great news NRSKarenRN! Thanks for sharing.

[sjoe]

Well, it SOUNDS good. My guess is that the only 100K nurses will be CRNAs and some nurses in higher admin (the very people who are responsible for the mess Kaiser is now in). You can bet that NONE of them would be providing bedside care in med-surg.

But still it might signal an improvement in their healthcare environment. We can hope so, at any rate. (I still wouldn't work for Kaiser.)

[Gomer]

Now Kaiser is trying to figure out how to pay for all of this....most likely they will be elimating jobs and/or non-RN's will not be getting raises in the future. Hope those union RN know how to empty garbage and serve meal trays! (Also, talk of closing some hospitals...but that is only rumor)

[rebelwaclause]

Salaried management do NOT get a piece of this pie. CNA (California Nurses Association) is for RN's working the floor or clinic. This excludes administrative positions.

Hmmmm...Good question. Wonder who will get "shut down" to make way for Kaisers new budget?

[NMAguiar]

Yeah, we ran this story on the top of our site today -- big stuff for nurses. But the pendulim really began to swing our way this summer when the California University hospitals won a never-before-seen contract -- the first to see UC San Francisco RNs recieving six-figures.

And no, they aren't nurse administrators. They're bedside, urine emptying grunt RNs -- although a few are higher trained with greatest seniority, of course.

I was trashed in the discussion groups this summer when I voiced optimism for the profession based upon the UC contract win. It seems too many among our ranks want to turn "wine to water. "

Hey, let's relax and enjoy the fruits of hard work!

[pabamick]

It's about time nurses get paid what they are worth. How are we ever going to get young people to entire our profession if we are not marketable in the job force. My daughter is going to be a civil engineer this May, making the same amount of money I do after being an RN for 28 years. As a nurse in Northern California our hospital has already started to fill the drain of nurses to the UC system and Kaiser. We got a 7% raise last week, and another 5% this January with our contract. We flooded the hospital with information of the Kaiser and Uc contracts. It's our job to stay informed and be heard. After 28 years I am not going to be walked all over just because I am a care giver.

[-jt]

<<But the pendulim really began to swing our way this summer when the California University hospitals won a never-before-seen contract -- the first to see UC San Francisco RNs recieving six-figures.....And no, they aren't nurse administrators. They're bedside, urine emptying grunt RNs.... I was trashed in the discussion groups this summer when I voiced optimism for the profession based upon the UC contract win. It seems too many among our ranks want to turn "wine to water. ">>

I know what you mean. Maybe it was never before seen in California but experienced RNs unionized with the New York State Nurses Association in NYC & some of our suburbs also earn 6 figure salaries. Our highest straight pay for experienced staff RNs right at this moment is $125,000/yr. Believe it or not some RNs here think this "too much". I was shocked to see some of our RNs who earn less at other facilities in the area, rather than insisting their hospital agree to the same in their contract or even come close, merely think these salaries are ludicrous. One even told me that it wasnt fair to the hospitals since they arent getting paid enough from the govt or insurance companies to afford it. Obviously, she isnt reading the financial pages or anything about whats going in her own profession. Sometimes talking to RNs feels like Im just banging my head against a wall.

[sjoe]

I will be delighted to say that I stand corrected, IF Kaiser follows through on this. Time will tell. (I still wouldn't work for them again.)

[-jt]

<Now Kaiser is trying to figure out how to pay for all of this....>

I dont trust this hospital system one iota. My guess is if they have to pay more for RNs they will just have less RNs. The staffing ratios call for 1 NURSE per however many pts. It doesnt say anything about it having to be an RN.