Registered nurses at San Leandro and Alameda Hospital voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying a new five-year contract that will improve patient safety and nurse retention, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU). San Leandro RNs ratified the contract on Tuesday, April 1 and Alameda RNs ratified the contract on Wednesday, April 2. The RNs at both hospitals are now under one agreement. 

“Every single article of our contracts was up for negotiation and nurses upheld the high standards of care we’ve historically fought for,” said Linda Strack, RN in the operating room at Alameda Hospital. “Because we remained united in our goal to improve nurse and patient health and safety, this landmark agreement raises the bar for the recruitment and retention of Bay Area nurses.”  

Highlights of the contract include:  

• Economic enhancements that establish parity between nurses at each facility with a minimum of 25 percent over five years and no takeaways to benefits; 
• Improvements to scheduling practices that prioritize nurses who live and work in the community over non-union nurse travelers;  
• Protections that ensure nurses receive meal and break periods to ensure rest is provided to avoid medical errors and fatigue; and
• RN inclusion into management’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee.

The new pact covers the period April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2029. 

“Over the last year and a half, nurses spoke truth to power and exercised our union rights in the fight for economic justice,” said Mawata Kamara, RN in the emergency department at San Leandro Hospital. “This new contract enables us to provide the best possible care to the vulnerable communities we serve at Alameda Health.”

CNA represents more than 380 nurses at San Leandro and Alameda hospitals.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and more than 225,000 RNs nationwide.