Page One, March 2008, Issue 21

UC and Nurses Union Ratify New Contract

After 10 months of negotiations, including state-assisted mediation and fact-finding, the University has reached an agreement with CNA for a new contract for our nurses.  Following the fact-finding process, we offered CNA a package proposal designed to address key outstanding union demands. 

On Saturday, March 15, UC and CNA agreed on contract language based on the University’s most recent offer for compromise. Nurses voted on the proposed contract over the week of March 17, and the contract was approved on March 22. The agreement will take effect upon the signature of CNA’s executive director and will run September 30, 2010 with wages and benefits automatically open in each autumn of 2008 and 2009 respectively.

We believe this is a positive agreement that rewards our nurses for their dedication and hard work.  Highlights of the agreement include:

·         Competitive Wage Increases: This agreement will increase salary ranges an average of 6% in the first year for nurses at medical center locations, with July 2008 step increases for eligible nurses at all locations and other increases to pay rates such as on-call and shift differential.

·         Continued Comprehensive Healthcare Benefits at Affordable Cost: This agreement ensures that our nurses will continue to receive the same comprehensive healthcare benefits provided to all University employees in 2008. These benefits provide a number of healthcare plans at affordable cost, including some plans which offered reductions in costs from 2007 to 2008. The agreement requires UC and CNA to negotiate changes for 2009 and 2010.

·         Continued High-Quality Retirement Program: This agreement guarantees that our nurses will not have to make contributions to the University’s retirement system through September 2008 and that the University will not make substantive changes to the plan for the same time period. 

·         Educational/Professional Development:  This agreement allows our nurses to participate in qualified education leave on their nurse’s day off and also ensures that they receive educational leave hours equal to the number of scheduled shift hours when they are released from work to participate in classes of at least 8 hours, even if their scheduled shift was for greater than 8 hours.

·         New Concept for Shift Rotation: This agreement provides our nurses with a new structure for shift rotation that would not require nurses with 10+ years as a UC RN to rotate unless provided a written statement about the reasonable basis for the rotation. This new concept would also ensure that a nurse required to rotate shifts has at least 48 hours rest between shifts unless they request less time off. 

Initially, the UC had hoped to provide our nurses with additional flexibility around their vacation and sick time through a Paid Time Off (PTO) program—a program supported by the neutral fact-finder in the fact-finding report. University officials ultimately agreed to remove this proposal from the settlement offer in order to reach an agreement with the union, however the UC continues to believe that PTO would benefit nurses by providing greater control over their own time.

The most recent version of the contract may be viewed here.  Please note that the contract language is still under review by CNA for and is subject to change. We will post the final version as soon as it becomes available.