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12 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 M A R C H | A P R I L 2 0 1 8 WRAP-UP REPORT California WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION california's registered nurses on April 1 cele- brated the implementation of the strongest state workplace violence prevention rules in the nation, groundbreaking regulations that take on added significance at a time of growing national concern over public safety in work- places from healthcare facilities to schools and other settings amidst widespread calls for safe- ty laws—especially on gun violence. California's new regulations are estab- lished by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) serve as the model for federal legislation (H.R. 5223, the Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act) introduced in March by Rep. Ro Khanna with the support of 14 other members of Congress. CNA and National Nurses United hosted two Face- book Live events, one in April and one in May, about workplace violence prevention, which can be viewed at their respective Facebook pages: Facebook.com/calnurses and Facebook.com/nationalnurses. "What works for healthcare facilities should be extended to all workplaces," says Bonnie Castillo, RN, NNU Executive Director, noting that in California RNs are working with CalOSHA to develop additional regulations to expand workplace prevention rules across other settings. Visit the workplace violence page of our Health and Safety campaign for more information: www.nationalnursesunited.org/ workplace-violence. CITY OF HOPE registered nurses who work at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, Calif. in May ratified a new, three-year contract that they say will strengthen their ability to protect patients, and improve the hospital's recruitment and retention of experienced RNs. The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United repre- sents some 1,200 RNs at City of Hope. "The new agreement is a testament to what nurses can achieve with strong advocacy and commitment and when we raise our collec- tive voice. I am so proud of my colleagues who made a stand for what is right and fair for our patients and for us nurses," said Gloria Espino-Diaz, RN. The new agreement includes economic gains that will help with nurse recruitment and retention, including minimum, across-the-board wage increases of 16.5 percent over the life of the contract, and other wage adjustments to rectify exist- ing inequities in the current wage scale and bring nurse wages closer in parity to similar hospitals in the region. Under the agreement the hospital has also agreed to establish a float pool that will be used to provide essen- tial relief nurses to assist with staffing so that RNs receive meal and rest breaks. District of Columbia FULL FUNDING OF SCHOOL NURSES diabetes. Severe allergies and risk of anaphylactic shock. Rare diseases. Gone are the days when school nurses handed out Tylenol and Band-Aids. Today's school nurs- es monitor and care for kids with a wide range of serious medical conditions. And you can't learn when you are ill. That's why District of Columbia Nurses Association nurses have advocated so passionately for every school in the district to have nursing services for at least 40 hours per week, a requirement DC Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law in 2017. The district is home to 110 public school campuses and an expected 110 public charter school campuses for the 2018-2019 school year. But staffing is dependent on funding, which is subject to the budget and appropriations process each year. On April 9, DCNA nurses testified at a Department of Health budget hearing to allocate at least $30 million to the school nursing program in order to meet the 40 hours per week commitment. The Depart- ment of Health will need funding to support an additional 75 full-time RNs and 26 full- time LPNs for the coming school year. UNITED MEDICAL CENTER RNS CHEER BIG VICTORY in other District of Columbia news, nurses working for United Medical Center celebrat- ed a huge win in April when the DC Council unanimously passed a resolution ratifying a contract that awarded nurses nearly $4 million in back pay for raises due to them dating back to 2014. The contract corrected pay disparities for nurses at the city-run hospital, who were paid close to 20 percent less than average nurse salaries in the district. "It was a long, hard fight for nurses who work hard in a challenging work envi- ronment and who were severely underpaid," said Debra Washington, acting president of the DCNA/United Medical Center bargain- ing unit, noting that the fight for a fair contract took almost a year. "Many of us have stayed with UMC throughout the various transitions of management, demonstrating our commitment to the patients we serve. We will continue to advocate for improving patient care at UMC." —Staff report NEWS BRIEFS Clockwise from top left: NNU Executive Director Bonnie Castillo, RN, leads press conference on new California work- place violence prevention regulations in effect April 1; Los Angeles City of Hope RNs win new contract; District of Columbia United Medical Center RNs rally for fair contract.