COMP NEWS – More than 21,000 nurses and nurse practitioners voted to ratify a contract between their union and their employer, Kaiser Permanente, that would guarantee a 22.5% pay increase over four years.
Nurses and nurse practitioners across two Northern California Kaiser Permanente facilities “voted overwhelmingly” to ratify a new four-year contract following last month’s tentative agreement between their union and the nonprofit system.
Under the contract, more than 21,000 represented workers secured a 22.5% raise over four years as well as the addition of more than 2,000 new registered nurse and nurse practitioner positions to address understaffing, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United announced Monday.
“With this new contract, we will be able to recruit new nurses, retain experienced RNs, and most importantly, provide our patients with improved care,” Cathy Kennedy, president of the California Nurses Association, said in the announcement.
Last month’s tentative agreement narrowly averted a two-day strike planned for Nov. 21-22, which would have been the largest private-sector nurses’ strike in U.S. history.
Additionally, the contract will guarantee other benefits such as tuition reimbursement and inclusion provision.
Other components of the deal highlighted in the union’s release included upgrades to Kaiser’s personal protective equipment stockpile, workplace violence prevention commitments, tuition reimbursement for education and equity and inclusion provisions.
“For the first time, our contract includes equity and inclusion provisions and a commitment to a workplace free from racism and discrimination,” Kennedy said. “Under this new agreement, we will create a regional Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee to address systemic racism within the health care system. This is long past due. I am thrilled that Kaiser is committed to a workplace that is free from racism and discrimination and that Kaiser agrees that healthcare is a human right and that we must end racial disparities in healthcare.”
To read more about the contract ratified by Kaiser Permanente nurses, click here.
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