Happy Nurses Week!

May 2012

This Nurses Week, we give thanks to all of our members for the quality patient care you give.

We have a photo gallery of UNAC/UHCP celebrations all over Southern California:

Since we last celebrated Nurses Week, UNAC/UHCP Registered Nurses have:

* After a Hard Fought Battle, Beverly Nurses Won Their First Contract: Beverly RNs voted by 96% to approve a first contract on May 2, 2012. Among the items won in the contract: wage increases, after going for years with a wage freeze, Grievance & Arbitration, and Just Cause, a voice in patient care with a labor management committee, and stronger floating, cancellation and mandatory OT protections.

* Bear Valley RNs Ratify a Contract After Protracted Negotiations: In November 2011, Bear Valley RNs voted for a contract with wage increases, OT improvements, and increase in 401(a) matching for long term employees.

* SPNN Nurses Got a New Contract With Strong Break Protections: On October 11, 2011, Registered Nurses at Sharp HealthCare ratified their contract. The RNs won improvements in educational benefits which will help them as they move toward Bachelors and Masters degrees. "Before this contract Sharp could and often did force Registered Nurses to work for ten hours without a meal break. We won ground breaking language that now requires Sharp to provide breaks to nurses without compromising patient care,” Ken Deitz, RN, President of UNAC/UHCP said at contract signing.

* Strike Averted, St. Francis Registered Nurses Won a Groundbreaking New Contract: Seven hundred Registered Nurses at St. Francis Medical Center (SFMC) ratified their contract in September 2011. Less than 72 hours after hospital management received the strike notification, SFMC agreed to all major issues that had been holding up settlement of the contract.

“This contract advances the professional standards of nursing. It addresses the critical shortage of support staff at SFMC and its impact on RNs’ ability to provide the highest quality of care. Moreover, the new contract provides additional RN staff for the notoriously understaffed emergency rooms. SFMC has finally begun to address the urgent problems in the Emergency Room that are of great concern to the nurses and the community,” remarked Ken Deitz, RN, President of UNAC/UHCP, upon ratification.

* Parkview RNs Ratified Their Second Contract: July 28, 2011 saw an awesome turnout of the PRNA members as they voted by an overwhelming majority to approve the new Tentative Agreement reached with Parkview management. Members turned out in record numbers to hear about some major contract improvements rarely seen in a second agreement, including across-the-board wage increases higher than the community standard, a decrease in the HMO premium share-of-cost, a return of 401(k) match, and increased on-call rates, with time and one-half for call-back.

* Garden Grove RNs Ratifies New Contract With Raises: Garden Grove Registered Nurses voted overwhelmingly Tuesday, June 19 to approve a new contract that includes wage increases retroactive to October 2010, and several contract improvements including bonuses, differentials and new holidays, while holding the line against proposed takeaways of our reserve sick bank and other benefits.