National Nurses United

KENTUCKY AND WEST VIRGINIA R egistered nurses at nine Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) facilities across Kentucky and West Virginia voted over- whelmingly in favor of ratifying a new three-year contract as of Jan. 23, winning provisions to improve nurse recruitment and retention. National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) represents more than 700 nurses at nine ARH facilities. "I am happy we were able to add lan- guage that guarantees every union nurse is getting a significant raise and 12 hours of holiday pay," said Rachel Parks, operating room RN at Hazard ARH Regional Med- ical Center in Hazard, Ky. "This was a huge victory for our night shift nurses who had this benefit taken away in prior con- tract fights." Highlights of the contract include "well- ness days," which allow nurses to take days off without penalty; preservation of layoff and seniority protections; no takeaways or concessions; and wage increases for all nurses, including step increases and cost-of- living adjustments for each year of the agreement with an average increase of nearly 10 percent over the life of the agree- ment, and holiday pay for all nurses, regardless of shift. The new pact covers the period May 1, 2026 to April 30, 2029. "It's good that nurses now have two well- ness days," said Lisa Salyer, medical-surgical RN at Morgan County ARH Hospital in West Liberty, Ky. "That's something we have wanted for some time to allow us time to take care of ourselves so we can be the best for our patients." —Staff report ARH nurses ratify new three-year contracts RNs at nine hospitals in Appalachia ensure facilities remain open and safely staffed CALIF0RNIA R egistered nurses at Sutter Health California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) Davies in San Francisco, Calif., voted over- whelmingly on Dec. 18, 2025, to join California Nurses Association (CNA). The election represents a significant milestone for San Francisco as well—Sutter CPMC Davies was the city's last remaining nonunion hospital for RNs. Nurses at the facility say they voted to join the union to have a say in patient care, particularly staffing, RN floating practices, and recruitment and retention of experi- enced nurses. In their first contract, nurses intend to focus on improving staffing and other patient care-related issues that drove their union campaign. The nurses voted 74 percent in favor of joining CNA, in an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. CNA will represent 350 nurses at the facility and nearly 9,000 nurses across 19 Sutter facili- ties across Northern California. "This is a long time coming. My cowork- ers and I are overjoyed and proud to join our Sutter CPMC nurse colleagues in California Nurses Association," said Rizza Poblete, an RN in the transitional ICU and ICU units who has worked 14 years at Davies. "We are looking forward to raising the bar on patient care and holding management accountable for safer working conditions and standards to make sure we keep our dedicated nurses and can recruit new ones." —Staff report San Francisco RNs win historic union vote Sutter nurses unionize last remaining nonunion hospital in the city for RNs J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y | M A R C H 2 0 2 6 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 11

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