Sharp Nurses Agree to 15 Month Contract – May 1, 2010

May 2010

Sharp Professional Nurses Network (SPNN) members overwhelmingly voted to accept a new 15-month agreement on April 30, moving away from their mid-summer expiration date. The new agreement runs from July 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011.

The new agreement only modifies a few contractual terms. "With the economy still climbing out of recession, we believed limiting our scope of bargaining to a few topics, like fair wage increases and a relatively short agreement duration, was the right thing to do," says SPNN President Chris McGovern, RN. "Our plan is to readdress the full collective bargaining agreement late next year when we anticipate the economy will be doing better."

Under the new agreement all Full-time/Part-time (FT/PT) nurses whose anniversary date falls between July 1, 2010 and September 30, 2010 will receive a 2% wage increase on their anniversary date. Effective at the beginning of the first full pay period of Sharp fiscal year 2011, all FT/PT bargaining unit nurses will receive a 2% across-the-board wage increase. In addition, each FT/PT nurse will receive a 2% wage increase on their anniversary date falling between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011. Per Diem and Weekend clinical nurse wage rates will increase 3.2% effective at the beginning of the first full pay period of Sharp fiscal year 2011.

The 2010-2011 agreement also provides for a common review date within thirty days of December 15, rather than individual nurse anniversary dates. This provision does not affect the anniversary date wage increases. And lastly, the agreement contains new language requiring Sharp to provide 30-day advance notice of a unit/department/facility/service line closure and a list of all affected bargaining unit nurses.

A pre-negotiation meeting was held on March 16 where SPNN members let UNAC/UHCP and SPNN leadership know what was important to them in a new agreement. "The input we received from many members was to secure a fair wage increase, protect our existing benefits and working conditions, and hope that the San Diego area economy gets better over the next year or so. We think this new agreement accomplishes that," stated Larry Winkler, RN, SPNN Treasurer and a member of the negotiating team.