National Nurses United

NewsBriefs.2:Sept 9/30/08 1:37 PM Page 5 tion. "Employers are supposed to following the ratios, but we have active disagreements over what that means," said Rodolfo. "This concept of meal and break relief is more concrete in terms of establishing our rights." Sutter RNs also won wage increases of 18 to 30 percent over the term of the agreement, depending on the facility. RNs will also receive pension improvements in the form of one-time bonuses ranging from $1,500 to $3000 to their retirement plans or as cash. Individual facilities faced with takeaways also largely beat back bad proposals. For example, Sutter wanted RNs at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and all their dependents over age 15 to participate in a "wellness program," fill out an eight-page personal health questionnaire, and meet with health "coaches"—or else have to start paying their own health premiums. Nurses there were able to cut the requirement down to an agreement that the nurse employee will have an annual checkup with his or her personal physician. "The original proposal was this intrusive health questionnaire, and we were able to effectively remove it," said Efren Garza, an adolescent psych RN at Alta Bates' Herrick campus. In addition to the major provisions outlined above, the negotiating teams secured numerous additional agreements that will make it easier to continue to build the consciousness and power of Sutter nurses. These include a bank of paid hours for nurse representatives and nurse rep councils, increase paid hours for professional practice committees, more mentoring, and access to leave for CNA/NNOC work or to volunteer in an emergency disaster. With almost all Sutter contracts settled, RNs report that they will now turn their group focus on negotiations between their coworkers and California Pacific Medical Center, which includes St. Luke's Hospital. CNA/NNOC scored a victory when a panel convened by the city and county of San Francisco, and on which CNA/NNOC participated, concluded in July that Sutter's plan to close St. Luke's was unacceptable and that the hospital should remain open. But contract negotiations have not yielded much progress. CPMC and nurses throughout the Sutter system report that they are launching a political campaign to break the impasse and continue the hard work of educating and organizing their coworkers at that facility. —staff report SEPTEMBER 2008 Reno Nurses Win First Nevada Contract, California-Style Ratios NEVADA ust 10 short months after unionizing with CNA/NNOC, about 500 registered nurses have ratified a four-year contract with Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center in Reno, a monumental deal that for the first time extends to Nevada nurses the same minimum RN-to-patient staffing ratio standards and patient protections, working conditions, and pension, retiree health and benefit packages that their colleagues in California enjoy. "We set initial goals for staffing ratios and have gone well beyond our expectations," said Marylea Hall, a neonatal intensive care unit RN at Saint Mary's. "We are so proud to be the first state outside of California to have achieved the California ratio package in our contract." CNA/NNOC Nevada director Jill Furillo, RN noted that the agreement would "transform the landscape in Nevada for nurses and patients," and that the Saint Mary's pact was modeled upon contracts won through the collective strength of some 10,500 Catholic Healthcare West RNs already represented by CNA/NNOC. In addition to gaining the same minimum staffing ratios as California, with tough enforcement through contract law, Saint Mary's RNs also won patient protections common to many other CNA/NNOC collec- J W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G tive bargaining agreements, including prohibitions against mandatory overtime except in publicly declared emergencies, restrictions on unsafe floating to areas outside of RNs' clinical expertise, and creation of safe patient handling procedures to prevent RN back injuries and patient falls. Saint Mary's RNs are also expected to receive an average salary increase of 29.5 percent over the contract term (with 16 percent of that coming in the first 10 months), and the total package is expected to be even higher now that the employer has agreed to fully paid health benefits and provide retiree health and pension benefits. In addition, Saint Mary's nurses will be included with their 10,500 CHW colleagues during 2009 master bargaining and will have the opportunity at that time to negotiate additional pension, retiree health, and benefit improvements at the master table. "This contract is what we needed to retain and recruit nurses," said Kevin Redner, an intensive care unit RN. "The contract promotes professional standards and protects our patients." His colleague Victoria Edmondson, a medical-surgical RN, agreed, praising the entire contract. "We will have excellent benefits, but more importantly, we will have a landmark contract setting the standard for patient care." —staff report REGISTERED NURSE 5

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