Nurses win first private-sector contract for RNs in the state of Colorado.

Registered nurses at CommonSpirit Longmont United Hospital (LUH) in Longmont, Colo., made history today by voting 100 percent in favor of ratifying a new three-year contract, winning protections to improve patient safety and nurse retention, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU]. This is the first union contract for the nurses at LUH and the first acute care private-sector contract for RNs in the state of Colorado. 

“We started organizing because our community deserves the best care when they come to our hospital, and our nurses deserve support to be the best nurses they can be,” said Kris Kloster, RN in the post-anesthesia care unit. “I am so proud of the work we have accomplished at the table, and we couldn’t have done it without the solidarity of nurses in our facility. Together, we win!” 

Highlights of the contract include:  

• Nurse staffing improvements: RN floating and cancellation protections that improve patient care and nursing practice standards.
• Professional Practice Committee: Scheduled monthly meetings with RNs and management to address solutions for ongoing patient care concerns.
• Meal and rest break language to ensure nurse and patient safety
• Health and safety provisions to ensure nurses get the highest level of personal protective equipment when caring for patients with infectious diseases.
• Competitive wages with the Denver metro area and protections for benefits. 

The new pact covers the period April 10, 2025, to April 10, 2028. 

The nurses originally won their union vote in 2022. After years of fighting LUH management and with community support, the RNs began bargaining in February 2024.    

“We are excited to continue championing the fight for safer staffing in our beloved hospital,” said Carol Anne White, RN in the intensive care unit. “We won protections that ensure CommonSpirit can never take away protections from us the way Centura (former managers of LUH) did.” 

NNOC will represent more than 250 direct-care nurses at Longmont United Hospital. 

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.