Pay Increases up to 28%, New Safety Protections

It’s official. Registered nurses at some of the biggest private hospitals in San Francisco and the East Bay have approved new collective bargaining agreements with Sutter Health, voting nearly unanimously to ratify pacts that cap a wave of contract settlements for some 8,000 Sutter RNs, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United announced today.

RNs who work Alta Bates Summit Medical Center facilities in Berkeley and Oakland and California Pacific Medical Center hospitals in San Francisco, including the first ever contract for nurses at CPMC’s Pacific campus, St. Luke’s and CPMC’s California campus ratified the agreements in membership meetings Wednesday and Thursday.

CNA and NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro said that “corporate greed sweeping the nation inspired Sutter” in its intent over several years to insist on “massive takeaways” from Sutter RNs. “But they didn’t know their nurses. The union did. I’m very proud of the Sutter nurses. They turned it all around to get great improvements and a better Sutter.”

“Our solidarity and perseverance with our Pacific and California campus brothers and sisters were critical components in achieving a contract that best suits the needs for nurse and patient advocacy,” said Jane Sandoval, an emergency room RN at St. Luke’s who was a leader in the fight to keep the hospital open. “Moving forward with collective strength, it is our honor to carry the torch of solidarity and equity for all CPMC nurses.”

Both pacts featured significant pay increases, new health and safety provisions, and strengthened benefits. All Alta Bates RNs will earn pay increases of 24 to 28 percent over four years, depending on years of service. CPMC RNs will all receive increases of 20-27 percent over four years.

In contrast with the prior disputes, the negotiations were not clouded with demands for sweeping reductions in RN economic, workplace, or patient safety standards. The new agreement includes improvements in long-term disability, dental and vision coverage for the RNs.

On health and safety, the contracts stipulate that bedside RNs will be involved in planning and prevention for the Ebola virus, a major concern in 2014 when several patients and two RNs were infected with the virus in the U.S. The provision also sets a precedent for addressing other possible epidemics, itself a notable achievement with growing concern over the Zika virus and other contagious diseases.

Alta Bates Summit nurse negotiators

“This agreement symbolizes that nurses are united in our strength and that our collective voices were heard,” said Alta Bates Berkeley’s Ann Gaebler, a neo natal intensive care RN. “Sutter knew we were prepared, and we are confident that this settlement will significantly improve the lives of patients and nurses.”

The RNs also persuaded Sutter to end the practice of using unpaid RN internships, a program in which recent RN graduates were required to work without pay, or in some cases actually paying thousands of dollars for the “experience” of the program, while carrying out full RN assignments. Now the interns will be covered by the union contract, with full pay.

The Alta Bates and CPMC agreements follow a wave of other CNA-Sutter settlements at Sutter Delta in Antioch, Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, Novato Community Hospital, and Sutter Solano in Vallejo, Mills-Peninsula Health Services Hospitals in Burlingame and San Mateo, Sutter Roseville, Sutter Santa Rosa, Sutter Tracy, Sutter Lakeside, and Auburn Faith. The only CNA affiliated Sutter contracts remaining are for two small Visiting Nurses facilities in Santa Cruz and a contract for technical workers at Alta Bates Summit.

All the contracts will expire on January 31, 2020.