Long Beach Memorial RNs Settle Groundbreaking Contract

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 05 Oct 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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Registered nurses at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center (LBMMC), one of the largest hospitals in the West, yesterday reached a tentative agreement with hospital officials on a new collective bargaining contract that addresses the nurses' key priority for patient safety protections along with substantial gains in nurse rights and compensation that will allow the hospital to continue recruiting and retaining RNs.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) represents some 1,800 RNs at the hospital, who will vote tomorrow and Saturday on whether to approve the new three-year contract, as their elected bargaining team recommends.

"Our new contract protects our patient advocacy rights as well as our union rights. Protecting the bargaining unit and ensuring that technology supplements our nursing practice will immediately impact our ability to care for our patients," said Margie Keenan, an RN at LBMMC and a member of the CNA/NNOC Board of Directors.

"Our new contract will attract and retain RNs to work at our hospital within a safer environment, with greater autonomy for the betterment of our patients and the community," said Cindy Nizetich, an RN at the facility.

At the heart of the agreement were provisions to institute leading patient safety practices, including the incorporation of safe nurse-to-patient ratios within the contract, as well as assurances that trained staff will be available to assist with patient lifting and provisions ensuring that the introduction of new technology in the hospital will supplement, not supplant, RN professional judgment and the nursing process.

The contract also includes important provisions that will allow the hospital to continue to attract nurses from around the nation to work at LBMMC. Key among these was protection of the collective bargaining rights of all nurses, despite recent anti-nurse "Kentucky River" rulings by the Bush labor relations board, along with an average 18 percent salary increase over three years, with many receiving over 20 percent. Additional important provisions include increased resources in RN patient care oversight committees and improvement in nursing education procedures.

California Nurses Association