Hollister
– Hazel Hawkins Hospital and the nurses’ union have reached a
tentative four-year contract agreement after three months of
negotiations.
Hollister – Hazel Hawkins Hospital and the nurses’ union have reached a tentative four-year contract agreement after three months of negotiations.
“I’m very pleased that we’ve reached a tentative agreement,” said Ken Underwood, Hazel Hawkins CEO. “Our nurses deserve a lot of credit and respect for their commitment to this community.”
As it stands, the agreement entails a 25.5 percent wage increase for registered nurses protected by the California Nurses Association over a period of four years, with a 20 percent increase to per diem rates. This increase, hospital officials say, will ensure that the wages Hazel Hawkins offers its nurses are equal to or higher than those at neighboring hospitals – namely St. Louise in Gilroy and Salinas Valley Memorial, which compete with Hollister for employees.
The agreement also provides for a more generous pension plan for nurses and health coverage for retirees. The two agencies finalized the tentative agreement on Tuesday evening.
“I see this as a very reasonable compromise, and I think most of the nurses will, too,” said Patty Lasky, a representative of the California Nurses’ Association.
Though Lasky and a handful of other nurses accepted the agreement at the table and endorsed it, it is not official. On Tuesday the 120 nurses protected by the union will vote on whether to ratify the new contract. If they do, the agreement will go before the hospital governing board Thursday for trustees to ratify.
The changes to the contract are all designed to make it easier for the hospital to recruit more nurses, easing the current staffing shortage at Hazel Hawkins. One of the union’s biggest contentions with the hospital was that employees were being forced to work long hours and skip breaks because there aren’t enough nurses to cover each shift. The changes to the union’s contract could persuade experienced nurses who live in town but commute to another hospital to consider working locally, as well as attract nursing school graduates.
“I think we now have the processes in place to improve staffing, and in the long term that’s going to be very positive for the nurses and the hospital,” Lasky said.
Underwood said the hospital was pleased that nurses were focused less on wages and more on improving general conditions at the hospital.
“I am impressed that negotiations from both the nurses’ union and hospital were focused less on economic issues and more on collaborative efforts to improve the quality of care we provide for our patients,” he said.
The news is particularly welcome to the hospital given that in late October the union, frustrated with the slow pace of the negotiations process, voted to authorize a strike if progress was not made quickly. The strike never took place, however, as negotiations picked up steam shortly thereafter.
“I think the employer knew the union was serious, and we were able to find common ground,” Lasky said.
The hospital also reached a tentative agreement with the union that represents its licensed vocational nurses this week, as well, after only a month of negotiations.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
ds****@fr***********.com
.
