National Nurses United

NewsBriefs:Public 9/4/07 4:11 PM Page 4 NewsBriefs NEW MAJOR ORGANIZING PACT WITH TENET, RNS RATIFY CONTRACT enet healthcare and CNA/NNOC in August came to groundbreaking pacts over the potential unionization of 3,000 RNs working at the hospital chain's facilities around the country, and a new contract covering 3,500 CNA/NNOC members. The organizing agreement is believed to be one of the largest-ever multi-state organizing agreements and offers Tenet RNs a unified voice. "This is a monumental moment for the nation's RNs as Tenet nurses have the historic opportunity to join with 3,500 of their unionized colleagues to assure the highest standards for themselves and their patients," said Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of CNA/NNOC. The organizing agreement establishes a process under which Tenet RNs in selected facilities are eligible to organize with CNA/NNOC in fair elections. RNs will not be subjected to an anti-union campaign by Tenet, and will have access in their hospitals to CNA/NNOC staff and members to learn about the benefits of CNA/ NNOC representation. The agreement also spells out the composition of bargaining units, and promises a fast election process and a swift process for negotiatof their happiness on the job," ing a first contract RNs at Desert Regional Medical once RNs elect to be Center in Palm Springs, Calif. vote said Sherri Stoddard, an RN negotiator working in labor and represented by the on a recently-settled agreement delivery at Sierra union. The agree- with Tenet Healthcare Corp. Vista Regional Medment dramatically enhances the ability of Tenet RNs to organize ical Center and a CNA/NNOC and win improvements in pay, benefits, and board member. "Nurses feel like they can actually do the patient patient care protections. At the same time, some 3,500 nurses rati- care they want. At the end of the fied a new CNA/NNOC contract with Tenet day, they can feel good and not worry about that significantly raises the bar on patient what they did wrong." This contract marks the first time that all care protections, restores pay equity throughout the system, and also includes nine Tenet hospitals represented by CNA/ salary increases of 25.5 percent over the NNOC sat down and negotiated at a statewide bargaining table. agreement's four-year term. As a result, RNs were successful in winning "This contract is huge for nurses in terms T the staffing provisions they were seeking, including inclusion of state-mandated staffing ratios into the contract, guarantees against canceling needed nurses which meant that hospitals would not be in compliance with ratios and that nurses' patient loads would double up when coworkers took breaks, and agreement that charge nurses cannot have patient assignments. One of the biggest problems the agreement fixes is pay inequity among veteran and newly-hired nurses. Vilma Raines, an ICU nurse for 13 years at Community Hospital of Los Gatos in the San Francisco Bay Area and CALIFORNIA 4 REGISTERED NURSE W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G SEPTEMBER 2007

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