‘Tentative’ Contract Reached Between CHW, Nurses at Three Bay Area Hospitals

Negotiators representing about 1,000 nurses at three Catholic Healthcare West hospitals have "unanimously recommended" approval of a contract agreement reached late Thursday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Under the two-year deal, nurses would receive a 5% salary increase each year, a 30% increase in pension benefits, retiree health benefits and "increased scheduling flexibility." Nurses at St. Mary's Medical Center and St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco and Seton Medical Center in Daly City will vote on the contract during the next three days. The California Nurses Association "hailed" the contract as a "breakthrough agreement." According to union spokesperson Chuck Idelson, "This is one of the best nursing contracts in the country." CHW spokesperson Stephen Texeira said, "There [are] ways money can be arranged and that's what has been done. We don't feel like we compromised in any way." The Chronicle reports that about 3,500 CHW nurses in Northern California had planned to strike on June 27, but advances in negotiations averted the threat (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 7/14).