Thousands of registered nurses and nurse practitioners in Northern and Central California, members of  the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU), voted nearly unanimously to approve a new three-year contract with Kaiser Permanente that gives them more freedom and authority to better care for their patients.

The contract covers 17,000 RNs and nurse practitioners  in 21 hospitals and 40 medical office buildings, and is the largest single contract for RNs in the country.  It provides for regional committees, selected by CNA, to determine additional staffing based on patient need. The deal also guarantees fixed schedules to protect arbitrary changes in nurse scheduling.

Under the contract, nurses will receive additional pay if they are assigned (floated) to a different department and new protocols are being established for more rapid management responses to staffing disputes

At a time when many employers are demanding major employee concessions, the contract also protects the nurses’ existing health care coverage and retirement security.

Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, chair of the Kaiser bargaining council and a CNA/NNOC co-president, says:

This agreement protects our patients, defends our hard-fought economic and practice standards in a tough economic environment and demonstrates again the strength of our professional union, CNA/NNU, and the unity of Kaiser nurses.

The  agreement includes full protection of all existing standards in health care coverage, post-retirement medical benefits, pensions and annual 5 percent pay increases each year of the agreement.

Deborah Burger, a Kaiser RN, and a CNA and NNU co-president, says:

This contract raises the bar for other systems and puts pressure on them to work with their nurses to provide the best care you can.