Welcome Big Wage Gains, Withdrawal of Cuts

 
Sutter Santa Rosa and Sutter Lakeside registered nurses have voted to approve new collective bargaining contracts joining their Sutter colleagues in Auburn, Roseville, and Tracy in new union contracts that will provide significant economic gains and protect nurses and patient standards.  
 
The Sutter RNs, represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, have engaged in rallies, strikes, and other coordinated actions over the past two years pressing for fair new contracts, and opposing demands for broad cuts in current standards, notably in health coverage, which Sutter has withdrawn. 
 
At Sutter Santa Rosa, RNs voted by 95 percent Tuesday to approve their pact which provides for across the board pay increases for all 400 Santa Rosa RNs of 16.5 percent over four years as well as improvements in dental, vision, and long term disability benefits.  
 
Among other significant provisions that will also protect patients, Sutter will provide additional break relief for RNs on all units that are not adequately staffed. Proper staffing, including one to one coverage, nurses to patients, will be assured for direct observation patients that need more intensive care, and the hospital will meet the highest standards in equipment and training for combatting the spread of infectious diseases such as Ebola.
 
Further, Sutter agreed to end the practice of using unpaid “interns” in training where they provide direct patient care without pay.
 
 “We are very pleased with this agreement, said Sutter Santa Rosa RN Laura Hinerfeld, RN. “We successfully introduced contract language that strengthens nurses’ ability to deliver safe patient care to some of our most vulnerable patients. We now have a contractual commitment to provide break relief for all nurses on all shifts. We ended the practice of exploiting new RNs in unpaid training programs.”
 
“The Nurses are happy with this hard fought agreement with Sutter Health,” said Debra Buccellato, RN of Sutter Santa Rosa. “It took a strike and a lot of work but we got an agreement that we were happy to recommend. Our nurses work hard to provide high quality patient care and deserve a great contract to protect them.”
 
“We fought hard to maintain an affordable healthcare option in a difficult bargaining environment that will only be remedied by a single payer Medicare for all national healthcare plan,” Hinerfeld said.  
 
Sutter Lakeside RNs approved their latest contract agreement on December 30. The pact covers 140 RNs, part of more than 7,000 Sutter RNs represented by CNA at Sutter hospitals.
 
At Sutter Lakeside, after 20 months of bargaining, RNs will each earn a 16 percent wage increase over four years along with improvements in dental and vision health coverage, and in long term disability benefit. As in other CNA-Sutter negotiations, they also succeeded in winning withdrawal of management demands for contract cuts, especially in health coverage.
 
“As a bargaining team member, I experienced firsthand how we, the union, fought to ensure good benefits, safe patient care conditions, and solid wages for me and my colleagues. I am a proud union nurse who believes that having a contract that addresses the stability of our workforce for the next four years will be positive for our community,” said Sutter Lakeside RN Yvette Neil.
 
Contact talks are also being held this week for CNA-represented Sutter RNs at Mills Peninsula Health Services facilities in Burlingame and San Mateo, and three California Pacific Medical Center hospitals in San Francisco, St. Luke’s, California, and for a first contract at CPMC Pacific.
 
Talks are scheduled next week for Sutter RNs at three Alta Bates Summit Medical Center facilities in Berkeley and Oakland, as well as at Novato Community Hospital and Sutter Delta in Antioch, and later this month at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley. A contract remains open at Sutter Santa Cruz, a visiting nurses home health service.