[Ludlow]

Registered nurses at the 5 campus hospitals of the University of California belonging to the California Nurses Association agreed to an historic contract this March that included:

*Protection of our first class pension and retiree health benefits

*40 hours per year of education leave that you can take either as the actual hours of CEUs earned for a class taken on an off-work day or as 12 hours to replace time missed if you take the class on a scheduled work day

*No PTO (that results in nurses coming to work sick because you don't want to use up hours that can be used for vacation) but rather protection of our separate sick time, vacation, holiday and comp time banks

*Up to 10% salary raise (I now make more than 3 times what I made as a new grad in 1997 at a non-union facility)

*Limits on mandatory shift rotation including the excluding of senior nurses

*Protections assuring that new technologies cannot replace RN judgement

*Better access to missed meals and breaks pay

*Agreement that all charge nurses are entitled to union protections (that they are not supervisors/managers)

WE fought hard for these great improvements and are glad to offer them as recruitment and retention tools to nurses who want to come and join us.

[RN4MERCY]

Originally Posted by Ludlow

Registered nurses at the 5 campus hospitals of the University of California belonging to the California Nurses Association agreed to an historic contract this March that included:

*Protection of our first class pension and retiree health benefits

*40 hours per year of education leave that you can take either as the actual hours of CEUs earned for a class taken on an off-work day or as 12 hours to replace time missed if you take the class on a scheduled work day

*No PTO (that results in nurses coming to work sick because you don't want to use up hours that can be used for vacation) but rather protection of our separate sick time, vacation, holiday and comp time banks

*Up to 10% salary raise (I now make more than 3 times what I made as a new grad in 1997 at a non-union facility)

*Limits on mandatory shift rotation including the excluding of senior nurses

*Protections assuring that new technologies cannot replace RN judgement

*Better access to missed meals and breaks pay

*Agreement that all charge nurses are entitled to union protections (that they are not supervisors/managers)

WE fought hard for these great improvements and are glad to offer them as recruitment and retention tools to nurses who want to come and join us.

Congratulations. I admire your collective advocacy. You stuck to it, stuck together, and your efforts have been rewarded, for all the right reasons. Health is a public good. The University of California has a responsibility to agree to abide by a contract that will ensure the kind of working conditions that attracts and retains enough nurses to provide the care patients deserve.
http://www.calnurses.org/media-cente...t-with-uc.html

[Chico David RN]

I was so glad when this was announced. I hear all the time how frustrating the UC system is to bargain with. UC nurses really deserve applause for standing together on this fight

[CMCRN]

I am so jealous! I am a Sutter RN, been out 3 times now, and these UC RNs got this GREAT contract without even taking a strike vote!

[Ludlow]

Originally Posted by CMCRN

I am so jealous! I am a Sutter RN, been out 3 times now, and these UC RNs got this GREAT contract without even taking a strike vote!

I know that you guys are fighting for Sutter to obey the law---to follow the ratios. Some companies are so brazen thinking they can get away with it. And you guys are holding their feet to the fire. At some time they have to acquiesce. Hang in there!

[RN4MERCY]

Originally Posted by CMCRN

I am so jealous! I am a Sutter RN, been out 3 times now, and these UC RNs got this GREAT contract without even taking a strike vote!

You are awesome for showing solidarity with your colleagues like that; it means a lot, and Ludlow is right. If Sutter was smart they'd figure out that patients who have a choice are going to think twice about seeking care in a place where the management is sooooo disrespectful of the nurses. You are right to protest working conditions that pose a threat to the health and safety of your patients.

And, I heard that Sutter had so little regard for their patients' safety that they hired outsider scab nurses instead of bargaining in good faith with the staff nurses and agreeing to improvements in their working conditions. It's been alleged that hospital management didn't even take time to independently validate the competency of the scabs in accordance with California regulations. There ought to be a stiff financial penalty against hospitals that violate those important patient safety regulations.

Sutter's reputation in the community is falling like a dead duck from the sky. The patients and the people in the community trust and support their nurses and appreciate their advocacy, and for standing up to the corporate bullies.

[mdfog10]

Nothing good comes easy. As a UC RN I can tell you that it took us 11 months to get this contract. We will be back to the table very soon for a wage and benefit reopener. We have had multiple strike votes (all YES) in the past. UC was motivated to settle as the date approached in which we could hold a strike vote. We have shown strength and unity.