Registered nurses at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale, Calif., voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying a new four-year contract on Tuesday, April 22, winning protections to improve patient safety and nurse retention, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU).

“We are so happy with the gains we have made,” said Ruby Carpo, RN in the emergency department. “The hospital put a variety of takeaways on the table, and we beat them all back. We won a contract that will help us recruit and retain the skilled nurses our patients deserve.”

Highlights of the contract include:

• Technology protections, including against the expansion of artificial intelligence in the nursing field
• New access to paid time off for nurses who are affected by natural disasters
• Historic improvements to wages, shift differentials, and stand-by/on-call pay.
• No contract takeaways

The new pact covers the period April 22, 2025 to Dec. 31, 2028.

“The language improvements we won in our contract will help us give our patients a better experience,” said Noelle Dutton, RN in the cardiac catheterization lab. “We beat back the hospital’s dangerous floating proposals, and we won new language on workplace violence prevention, which will help nurses feel safer at work.”

CNA represents nearly 300 nurses at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital.

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.