With a second strike looming — this one more than twice as long as their first on July 22 — the 1,600 registered nurses at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego ratified a new three-year contract Thursday, locking in wage and benefit increases and setting aside picket signs that were set to begin waving Monday.
The new deal provides base wage increases of 17 percent over three years with further upward adjustments to specialty pay that pushes the average compensation increase to 22 percent for the average worker, Rady management has said.
It was the fourth tentative agreement that Rady nurses considered, having rejected three consecutive offers, staging a two-day strike on July 22 and 23. Health insurance costs were said to be a significant reason why nurses rejected the first three proposals and, according to contract details posted on the union’s website, part-time workers won the same premiums that full-time workers pay and all workers will see annual premium increases capped at 10 percent.
Rady, clearly looking to fend off the massive expense of bringing in replacement workers to backfill shifts for five consecutive days, took a carrot-and-stick approach in its fourth offer, agreeing to spend $1.6 million on $1,000 bonuses for each nurse in the bargaining unit but also indicating that first-year raises would fall from 9 percent to 8 percent if the contract was not approved by the end of the day Thursday.
In a statement announcing the deal, union leadership sounded a victorious note.
“This contract underscores the power of unity and the solidarity among our nurses,” said union local director Katie Langenstrass. “This agreement is the direct result of members raising their voices and demanding to be heard—and now, we have a contract that begins to tackle important issues like curbing rising medical costs. We did not get here alone—it was the result of the collective strength of our members, the steadfast support of elected officials, and the backing of our community members.”
Rady Children’s released a much shorter statement of its own Thursday night.
“Rady Children’s values every member of our workforce and will focus on moving forward as a united Team Rady,” the statement said. “Together we remain steadfast in our commitment to our mission and serving the children in our community.”
The announcement is sure to galvanize several other local health care labor groups currently pushing for significant contract increases, including service workers at UC San Diego Health and Sharp HealthCare and registered nurses at Palomar Health in North County.
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