San Joaquin County Reaches Tentative Contract Agreement with Nurses

San Joaquin County officials on Tuesday reached a tentative contract agreement with the county's 560 nurses, the Stockton Record reports (Firpo, Stockton Record, 8/14). Negotiations between the California Nurses Association, which represents the nurses, and county officials had stalled over disagreements on nurses' salaries and health benefits, and the nurses held a one-day strike on July 24. CNA had asked the county for a 22% increase in wages for nurses; the county had offered an 11% increase. In addition, CNA had asked the county to cover the cost of health insurance for the nurses and their families (California Healthline, 7/24). The new contract proposal includes a 19% raise for nurses over 18 months. Nurses plan to vote on the contract Friday, and if approved, county supervisors will consider the proposal on Aug. 27. CNA and county negotiators unanimously recommended the contract. "It's a very good settlement. What it does, it makes the county competitive," CNA negotiator Bonnie Castillo said. Don Turko, head of the county's personnel department, added, "We're pretty confident it's going to be approved." Turko said that the county will release the details of the contract after the nurses vote on the proposal (Stockton Record, 8/14).