California RNs

Town & Country · Aug 1, 2003

What is the typical pay for an RN with an Associate degree doing med/surg in CA?

OK, big state: let's say in the Carmel/Santa Cruz area.

Someone please tell me.

Thank you.

Gomer · Aug 1, 2003

In the L.A. area....way south of Carmel/Santa Cruz area....with at least 1-yr experience.....$28.05 to $40.50/hr for FT or PT with benefits....non-union hospital.

sjoe · Aug 1, 2003

http://www.salary.com

canavywife · Aug 3, 2003

I live in pacific grove which is just north of carmel on the monterey peninsula...There is only ONE hospital in this area (CHOMP.org) and the other two are out in salinas. Currently community hospital of the monterey peninsula does NOT have a union but it is a fantastic place to work--they are GREAT to their employees. The other hospitals in salinas (about 20 miles to the east) I believe have unions--natividad is a public hospital and salinas valley memorial is definitly union. I am NOT a fan of unions and chomp pays just as much if not more to their RNs as a union hosiptal would. I have one year experience, work day shift on a med surg floor, have a BSN, and my base pay is $38.50. There benefit package is fantastic, I pay NOTHING for medical insurance, if you have a sig other, I believe it is $20 a month. And yes, you CAN afford to live in carmel on a nurses salary IMO--it is expensive but if you save (Like I have) it can be done.

Good Luck, you can email me if you have other ??

Tina

whistle1429 · Nov 12, 2006

Spacenurse,

where are you located, and how do you know so much about the contracts that CNA negotiates?

FYI: CNA has no problem taking your union dues, but as I have learned, as well as others within the HCF I work when you have a grievance the union drags their feet, and when there are issues concerning union representation, you only have ONE alternative NO representation by the union! And when the grievance goes to arbitration the decision may be binding, and it is the UNION who decides whether or not they will accept an offer from the employer NOT THE RN! What? So our outcome is decided by the UNION? Why are we paying dues to a union who has the right to decide whether or not to accept the offer on the table? That would be like an attorney who is accepting a plea, before trial has begun and the defendant has to accept the conditions! That's outrageous! I think our money needs to go elsewhere! Granted the union helps to get more pay but if you can't fall back on "job security" we are paying for unreliable security/representation! We have given them our power. Who's interest are they really serving? Ultimately, they are paid by OUR employers! Our employer pays us... we pay the union... the union would get no money if the HCF didn't exist. So, do you honestly believe they are seeking our best interest or theirs? Whoever fattens their wallet is who they will discreetly support... and we're just too busy running our tails off to take notice!

Let's not forget they're SALESMEN! They wouldn't even have the ability to get contracts if nurses didn't strike, picket, yet we say that with THEIR help, we got higher pay??? NOT! They need us, we don't need them! They have proven time, and time again to be worthless! Aren't there other unions that represent nurses in CA? How about CNA get a little competition?

they state that if you don't agree with their decisions, we are able to donate our dues to a charitty fund elsewhere! And if we all didn't agree with them at one hospital what type of representation would we get? They come off like they're so noble, fighting for the RN's rights, patient safety, ratios. Please, you're killing me! They're only stroking our ego, they horse trade. I have seen it, and been involved in it!

How do the reps and all CNA's associates get replaced? Want a better union- replace the staff then maybe you'll better the odds. The way it is with CNA in CAm they are not worth the money paid! By the time you need them, you could have paid for your own attorney and had an input in the outcome!

Arbitration was a joke! Where do they get their lawyers, out of a cracker jack box? Don't be fooled by CNA sales pitch, so before considering their representation in your HCF, I suggest that you do your homework! Call around... ask nurses throughout the hospitals they represent what they think about the representation they receive. I know Kaiser isn't really happy about CNA in their hospitals! It seems like CNA is able to keep the bad nurses through arbitration, but cant manage to keep the good ones!

Of course, this is only my opinion, from my experiences.

TazziRN, RN · Nov 12, 2006

I belong to CNA and I had great representation when I worked at my last facility. I had a hard time when I went back to work after going into recovery, was never ever trusted again by anyone I worked with (I could understand in the beginning, but when I left 5 years later it hadn't changed). I was accused of several things involving narcs, and if it hadn't been for my union rep I would have been fired after the first one. Because I was union they had to place me on admin leave and investigate, and each time I was cleared.

tkhayman · Nov 12, 2006

I received a job offer from a CNA run hospital and yes they offer good pay and benefits, but having to pay high union dues every month i don;t know about paying that ($80 mth), plus if you do not pay i heard that they can get a court order and garnish your paycheck for not payng dues. I am not a big fan of unions because they tend to have bullying tactics.

If only hospitals treated their employees better we do not have to worry about unions. So i reconsidering taking on the position.

whistle1429 · Nov 12, 2006

TazziRN,

I am not implying that all Union transactions are a failure, although I wonder what percent of nurses are happy with the representation they receive, or with the fact that it is near impossible to terminate nurses that need to be.

norcalRNstudent · Nov 12, 2006

I am finishing up school in Santa Cruz, and have heard good things about CHOMP as well. The above poster was right on about pay...it's about the same up here at Watsonville Community Hospital, and Dominican, which is a CHW hospital. Carmel is spendy, but it CAN be done...and the surrounding areas are nice as well. Good Luck!

mollyma · Jan 10, 2007

do you still work at chomp? are you still happy working there? what is the pay difference for a new grad with an associates to a bachelor's? how are the benefits?

mollyma · Jan 10, 2007

tina, do you still work at chomp? are you still happy working there? what is the pay difference for a new grad with an associates to a bachelor's? how are the benefits?

whistle1429 · Jan 27, 2007

okay spacern, this is just a sample of what i mean about the california nurse assoc.

this letter is from their representing attorney.... isn't it nice to know our rights? i think we all need to read the fine print, read between the lines, and remember that the union is only as powerful as it's members.

another side note... the nlrb isn't real! there are no checks and balances between the union an nlrb, so if you think there is recourse against the union, it's not through the nlrb, but through state court!

when i filed a complaint against my union/rep with the nlrb, the nlrb contacted me and stated, "im surprised you didn't file a complaint against the employer", i said, "i didn't know i could"... so i did. wasn't she so sly... after filing my complaint against my employer with the nlrb, i was contacted again, and informed, "although you do raise several issues that would probably warrant an investigation, it wouldn't look good on you, for you to go to arbitration with a complaint against the union who's representing you... so here's what i"m gonna do... i'm gonna drop the case against the union, and defer the one to arbitration against the employer.

when i later contacted her, stating that i thought it was outrageous that she gave my charge against the employer over to the same union rep that i had filed a grievance against, she dismissed my concern, and stated, "well, the charge against the union is dropped, i'm not going back there." i informed her that i may file another complaint against the union, and she said that even if i did, she wouldn't take into account my past complaints, and i woudl have to come up with a whole new set of charges.

i contacted the dol, attny general, ocr, and they all stated the same, as did nlrb... there is no entity that oversee's the nlrb. so... they "babysit" the union, but who babysits them???

what a failure of the entire system... what in the world are we thinking we have protection if we have a union for when really... we're in the same boat as those who are nonunion members.. our only recourse is really suing them civally...

read on... this came directly from cna's attorney.... become enlightened.....

subject: re: friday meeting

date: fri, 26 jan 2007 11:54:18 -0800

from: (attorney for c n a) @calnurses.org

i cannot tell when the first e-mail to patty l was sent and it may be that it preceded some of the other exchanges you included. therefore, some of the questions i am answering may have already been answered.

with respect to your question about your attorney, you have already been informed, in writing, as shown in the jan. 24, 9:21 am and 3:11 pm e-mails from patty lasky to you which you forwarded to me, that your attorney may not be present at the arbitration preparation meeting or at the arbitration.

the reason is that the collective bargaining agreement ("cba") is between st. louise regional hospital and cna. as reflected in article 16 of the current cba, only the "parties" to the cba have rights under the grievance procedure. registered nurses represented by cna are third-party beneficiaries of the cba but have no direct rights as a party to the cba. as reflected in article 16.b, at step two of the grievance procedure, even for grievances between the rn and the employer, such as yours, a representative of cna meets with a representative of the employer to attempt to resolve the grievance. only a party to the cba and not an individual employee can refer a grievance to an impartial arbitrator for determination.

cna functions in an arbitration to advance the cause of the individual grievant while considering the impact of the case on the bargaining unit as a whole.

there's no issue of your "waiving" your right to have an attorney at the arbitration because you do not have any such right to start with.

cna will continue to represent you with the same care and dedication with which we represent all the rns at st. louise and hundreds of other hospitals in california and in other states.

cna does not use attorneys for all the arbitrations; we do always use representatives who are skilled and proficient in conducting arbitrations

the types of settlement offers that cna might accept over your objection, there is no way to create a list of hypothetical offers. the critical fact is whether the settlement is "reasonable"

in cna's view.

binding arbitration means that there is no right to appeal the arbitrator's decision to court. under certain very limited and narrow circumstances, a union or an employer may move to vacate an arbitration decision but disagreeing with it or having lost certainly is not a basis for petitioning to vacate. sometimes an employer will indicate that it does not intend to comply with a decision, despite the fact that there is no legal basis to do so) and in that case the union probably would file a court action to confirm the award.

basically the arbitrator orders a make whole remedy so that your compensation and benefits would be the same as if you had not been terminated. typically a grievant does not get compensated for time spent in grievance meetings or preparing for the arbitration or for costs expended in connection with the case.

m. jane

legal counsel

california nurses association

national nurses organizing committee

2000 franklin street

oakland, ca 94612