San Ramon Regional Medical Center Nurses To Vote on Joining Union
Nurses at San Ramon Regional Medical Center will vote in October whether to join the California Nurses Association, the Contra Costa Times reports. The hospital on Wednesday agreed to allow the vote on Oct. 9-10 after "wrangling" with CNA attorneys over which nurses would be eligible to vote. The two sides decided the vote will be open to full-time and regular part-time registered nurses in the hospital, the women's cancer center and the facility's ambulatory surgery sites, the Times reports. Registered nurses who serve as case managers, charge nurses, staff members "who occasionally perform supervisory duties" and per diem nurses who have worked a minimum number of hours in the past two quarters also will be eligible (English, Contra Costa Times, 9/5). San Ramon nurses have said that staffing at the facility is "inadequate" -- particularly in the medical and post-surgical units -- and are seeking improved benefits and compensation. Registered Nurse Cathi Wooden, who works in San Ramon's family birthing unit, said, "Right now, we just don't feel like we have a voice. Instead of a team player atmosphere, it's kind of like we/them" (Thomas, East Bay Business Times, 8/30). San Ramon's CEO Diane Lowder said that the facility is opposed to unionization because the nurses do not "need an outside intermediary to represent them," according to the Contra Costa Times. She added, "I believe nursing is an art and a profession, and nurses can speak for themselves" (Contra Costa Times, 9/5).
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