May 1 strike called off; nurses to vote on contract ratification May 3

Registered nurses at Washington Hospital in Fremont, California, reached a tentative agreement with management at Washington Hospital Healthcare System (WHHS) over the weekend, averting a one-day strike that was set to begin on Wednesday, May 1, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) today. The new agreement addresses nurses’ key concerns around retention and recruitment of RNs within the healthcare district, improving patient care and working conditions for nurses at Washington Hospital.

Washington Hospital nurses have been in negotiations since April 2023 for a new contract. Nurses will vote on whether to ratify the new agreement on Friday, May 3.

“We are excited to have reached this historic agreement that will improve patient care, working conditions, and nurse recruitment and retention at our hospital," said Kim Lake, RN and chief nurse representative at Washington Hospital. “We demonstrated that nurses were ready to fight for the contract our members and patients deserve, and we are proud with what we achieved.”

The nurse bargaining team met with hospital management through a mediator on Saturday, April 27, after nurses at Washington Hospital delivered notice of their planned strike last week. The result was a tentative agreement for a new contract that resolved all outstanding issues, including the withdrawal of the nurses’ strike notice and all unfair practice charges (UPCs) filed with California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) ahead of the scheduled strike.

This agreement sets a new standard for county and district nurses across the state, and the bargaining team is enthusiastically recommending the membership ratify the new contract on Friday.

CNA/NNU represents roughly 840 nurses at Washington Hospital.

The California Nurses Association has 100,000 members statewide and is affiliated with National Nurses United, the largest and fastest growing union of RNs in the nation. CNA/NNU has won landmark health and safety protections for nurses and patients in the areas of staffing, safe patient handling, infectious disease and workplace violence protection.