AFTER coming to a tentative contract agreement, approximately 18,000 nurses and nurse practitioners at more than 80 Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics canceled a strike planned for Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 21 and 22.
The California Nurses Association, which is part of National Nurses United, said on Sunday, Jan. 18, that nurses in central and northern California will receive a 14 percent raise throughout a three-year period.
“We’re excited to be moving forward,” said Katy Roemer, a nurse at Kaiser Oakland and member of the bargaining team, according to San Jose Mercury News.
Additionally, under the proposed agreement, retirement benefits will be improved, hundreds of additional registered nurses will be hired and new nurse and nurse practitioners will address concerns regarding the standard of care, union leaders said.
“It goes a long way in establishing relationships and structure to build a different relationship with kaiser Permanente,” said RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of the union, according to San Francisco Chronicle.
Next, nurses must ratify the agreement.
In a news release, the health giant said the tentative agreement was reached late Friday, Jan. 16, and that it was pleased to announce the contract agreement.
“We greatly respect and value our nurses. This agreement is aligned with our commitment to improve our quality and affordability and to be a national model for the delivery of health care,” Gregory Adams, regional president for Kaiser in Northern California, said in a statement.
Nurses are expected to vote to ratify the agreement in the next month, Kaiser and union officials said.
Last week, on Jan. 12, more than 2,500 mental health employees went on strike due to what they deemed a lack of staffing that, in turn, affects care. These workers are represented by a different union, the National Union of Healthcare Workers.
(With reports from Bay City News, Reuters, San Jose Mercury News and San Francisco Chronicle)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek January 21-23, 2015 Sec. A pg.1)
