National Nurses United

4 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 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 J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 NEWS BRIEFS CALIFORNIA R egistered nurses and nurse practitioners who work at 21 Kaiser Permanente hospitals and 65 clinics across Northern and Central California, the largest collective bargaining contract for nurses in the United States, voted in January to approve a new three-year agreement that provides for substantial improvements in patient care, health and safety protections for nurses, and economic gains. It was a deserved and hard- won victory, coming after a November strike, numerous actions and protests by nurses over the past year, and just as nurses were about to strike again. The pact was overwhelmingly approved in membership meetings held from Santa Rosa to Fresno. The California Nurses Asso- ciation/National Nurses United represents 18,000 Kaiser RNs and NPs. "Kaiser RNs have long been in the fore- front of standing up for their patients and themselves, setting a benchmark that others have followed," noted CNA/NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro. "The new pact could not have been realized without the unified determination of Kaiser nurses, to assuring the highest level of quality care for patients as well as protections for the nurses who deliver that care." Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, the RN chair of the Kaiser nurses bargaining team and a copres- ident of CNA, said she was proud and hope- ful that this new agreement will help address nurses' outstanding patient care concerns, as well as setting a national stan- dard for all RNs. "Winning this new contract is a huge victory for our patients and our nursing profession," said Triunfo- Cortez. "A key provision is hiring more RNs and NPs, and more nurses mean more time for our patients. And the economic gains are substantial enough that we can continue to provide for our families." "We look forward to a new chapter in our interactions with Kaiser," DeMoro added. "We especially appreciate the commitment of Kaiser's leadership to working to address our concerns, including working through the complicated problems associated with the changes in healthcare delivery, some of them related to the Affordable Care Act, and the attention that has paid in this contract to the health and safety of its registered nurses as well as patients." "This contract continues the CNA tradition of providing an atmosphere where patients come first and nurses' futures are protected," said Kaiser Modesto RN Amy Glass. Major components of the contract include the addition of 540 RN positions which RNs say should substantially improve the quality of care for hospitalized patients, as well as signaling a renewed commitment to RN training and employment opportuni- ties for new RN graduates at a time when many hospitals have frozen RN hires. A groundbreaking feature of the agree- ment are new health and safety provisions, including a new accidental death and dismemberment benefit for RNs in recogni- tion of how often nurses are harmed by workplace violence. Language also encom- passes workplace protections for RNs exposed to infectious diseases like Ebola and needle stick injuries. RNs and NPs, many of whom are the sole source of income for their families, will also enjoy substantial economic gains. Over the three years of the agreement, all the nurses will receive 14 percent pay increases through across-the-board hikes and lump sum payments, including a 5 percent increase retroactive to January 1, 2015. The contract increases long-term retire- ment security for Kaiser RNs and NPs through maintenance of a secure, defined- benefit pension plan, plus a significant increase in employer contributions to the nurses' 401(k) pension plans for the 87 percent of Kaiser RNs participating. A new committee of direct-care RNs and NPs will work with management to address the concerns RNs have about care standards in Kaiser facilities, plus the existing quality liaison program of RNs and NPs who work on patient care issues will be expanded. And, as a first in the nation, Kaiser will provide paid release time for 25 RNs every year to participate in NNU's disaster relief program, the Registered Nurse Response Network, which has dispatched hundreds of RNs to provide basic medical services following U.S. and global disasters, from Hurricane Katrina to the Haiti earthquake to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. —Staff report Kaiser RNs victorious with new contract

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