California Nurses Association/NNOC Announces Major New Pact With Tenet Healthcare Hospitals

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 21 Aug 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee announced it has achieved a sweeping new collective bargaining agreement for 3,500 registered nurses at nine Tenet Healthcare hospitals in California - including Tenet's two largest California facilities, Doctor's Medical Center of Modesto and USC University Hospital in Los Angeles.

"We are thrilled to have reached this breakthrough agreement with Tenet," said Rose Ann DeMoro, CNA/NNOC Executive Director and a National Vice President of the AFL-CIO.

"We hope that this major accomplishment for Tenet RNs will help provide stability for Tenet and promote further improvements in the quality of care for Tenet's patients," DeMoro said.

RNs will vote on the new four-year pact in meetings at the nine hospitals that start today and run through Sunday.

"This is a groundbreaking agreement that strengthens our ability to act as strong advocates for our patients," said nurse negotiator Sherri Stoddard, a CNA/NNOC Board member and a Tenet RN at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo.

"This sets a high standard for the professional practice of nursing, and we are unanimously recommending it to all Tenet RNs," Stoddard said.

Details of the agreement will be announced following the membership votes. According to CNA/NNOC they include substantial gains in compensation, significant patient care enhancements, and improved union rights for RNs.

In a separate agreement, CNA/NNOC and Tenet Healthcare also reached a national organizing pact governing fair representation election procedures for Tenet RNs.

In addition to Doctors Modesto, USC, and Sierra Vista, other hospitals affected by the agreement are two other Los Angeles area hospitals, Los Alamitos Medical Center and USC Norris Cancer Center; Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs; Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton on the central coast; and two Bay Area hospitals, Community Hospital of Los Gatos, and San Ramon Regional Medical Center.

CNA/NNOC represents 75,000 RNs from California to Maine.

http://www.calnurses.org