Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health nurses have agreed to a three-year contract following a strike that began a week ago, the union said Monday.
Nurses will return to work Tuesday.
Members of the Committee for the Recognition of Nursing Achievement, or CRONA, on Sunday voted 83% in favor of the contract, the union said. The union represents 5,000 nurses employed by the southern California hospitals. The union disclosed a tentative agreement Saturday.
Colleen Borges, president of the union and a pediatric oncology nurse at Stanford Children's Health, called the contract "an enormous victory."
"We are very proud of the advances we made with these contracts. They address the goals we set out at the outset of negotiations and we hope will lead the way to improve nursing as an overall profession," Borges said during a call with reporters Monday.
Stanford said it was pleased by the contract's ratification.
"After extensive discussions, we were able to reach a contract that reflects our shared priorities and enhances existing benefits supporting our nurses' health, well-being and ongoing professional development," Stanford said in an emailed statement.
Bargaining started in January, and the previous contracts expired at the end of March. The parties used a federal mediator throughout the process.
"We do know that other unions are watching us," Kathy Stormberg, a nurse in Stanford's radiology department and vice president of CRONA, told reporters. "We do hope that this will help other unions and other nurses who may even want to unionize to achieve gains in their bargaining efforts to elevate our entire profession."
One of the reasons the nurses went on strike was because they felt the hospitals were not hearing their concerns, Stormberg said.
A major issue for nurses was the recruitment and retention of nurses, the union said. Nurses had asked the hospitals to spend more to improve staffing levels, especially in critical care areas, and to prioritize rest and recovery for burnt-out nurses.
According to the union, the agreement includes:
- higher pay for treating high-acuity patients.
- raises of 7% in 2022, 5% in 2023 and 5% in 2024.
- improved mental health benefits, including a $1,000 stipend to nurses' health savings accounts or flexible savings accounts.
- an additional week of paid time off.
- enhanced retiree medical benefits and student loan assistance.
- a new rapid-response team for workplace violence at Stanford Children's Health.
- in-person emergency response training.
- maintenance of zero-premium health benefits for nurses and their families.
The union moved toward a work stoppage less than two weeks after the previous deals expired, and the hospitals responded by threatening to withhold workers' health insurance premiums. After the two parties reached a tentative agreement Friday, Stanford agreed not to disrupt medical benefits.
There have been a number of recent labor disputes at Califorina hospitals. Workers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles plan to go on strike May 9 over a contract with the not-for-profit hospital that ended March 31. During that strike, 2,000 members of Service Employees Union International-United Healthcare Workers West will protest unfair labor practices, safety concerns, short staffing and low wages.
In April, more than 8,000 nurses and other healthcare workers at 15 Sutter Health sites in California conducted a one-day strike over concerns about staffing levels and health and safety standards.
