Contra Costa County Nurses Vote to Ratify Contract

Contra Costa County nurses nearly unanimously approved a new labor contract in meetings last week, California Nurses Association officials announced today.

Ninety-five percent of the nurse union’s membership voted to ratify the labor contract after the nurses reached a tentative agreement with the county on Nov. 2.

That proposed end to negotiations came after a protracted 15-month bargaining period, during which county nurses participated in a two-day walkout. On Oct. 6, the first day of the walkout, county nurses packed a Board of Supervisors meeting to ask for a favorable outcome to negotiations. The nurses implored supervisors to stop county hospitals from “bleeding nurses,” as many left to pursue higher-paying private sector work.

More than 100 nurses left in the past year, union officials said.

The county did include in the tentative agreement a 16 percent wage increase, with protections for benefits and assurances that there would be no mandatory overtime, according to the union.

“Our nurses have shown, with this vote, that what we fought for at the bargaining table was finally achieved,” Farina Khan, a county nurse, said in a statement. “We are excited to move forward with an agreement that will uphold top-quality patient care and retain the most experienced nurses for our community,” Khan said.

The union expects the supervisors to approve the agreement at a meeting on Nov. 17. If approved, the labor contract would last until the beginning of 2018.

--Bay City News