Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/447728
News Briefs 6 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6 C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E LONG BE ACH ME MORIAL ME DICAL CE NTE R About 1,500 nurses at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center approved in November a new contract that not only boosted salaries across the board by 20 percent over the agreement's three years, but also adds new protections against unsafe floating and establishes lift teams to help nurses maneuver pa- tients. Under the contract, nurses will stay within their general area of spe- cialty because they can float only within one of the 12 "clusters" to which they've been assigned. Nurses agreed that this landmark agreement will help Memorial attract and retain RNs. SAN BE RNARDINO COUNTY Nearly 300 per diem RNs with Arrow- head Regional Medical Center and county sheriff and probation depart- ments ratified their first- ever contract in December, approving an agreement that largely puts them on an equal footing with other staff RNs working for San Ber- nardino County. The agree- ment gives them at least a 5.5 percent pay increase in their first year, establishes protections against unsafe floating by establishing specialty clusters, and sets them up to bargain jointly with the county's staff RNs when their contracts expire in a couple years. DE SE RT RE GIONAL ME DICAL CE NTE R Some 450 nurses at Desert Regional Medical Center ratified a new local con- tract in late November that gives them an additional 7 percent pay increase, on top of the gains they made when they approved a statewide CNA-Tenet master agreement in August. RNs there also were successful in establishing a union shop, floating clusters, and other protections against layoffs. ST. VINCE NT ME DICAL CE NTE R Nurses with St. Vincent Medical Cen- ter, one of the largest hospitals on the West Coast and CNA's first major or- ganizing victory in Southern Califor- nia, voted by 75 percent in November to stay affiliated with CNA. In doing so, they successfully beat back a campaign by a smaller faction of anti-union nurses, helped by the hospital and var- ious union-busting consultants. —Staff report Bargaining Bulletin