Following a historic strike in April by its registered nurses, Santa Clara County has reached an agreement with the labor group for a new four-year contract that sets multiple pay raises as well as other workplace protections.
More than 88% percent of the Registered Nurses Professional Association — which represents more than 3,750 nurses in the county-owned Santa Clara Valley Healthcare system — voted to ratify the contract, the union announced over the weekend.
In a statement, RNPA President Susie York said they “set the groundwork for better workplace safety practices” with the new agreement.
“Our new contract is a big step forward for Santa Clara County nurses and the patients we serve,” York said. “We were able to win improvements to our pay and working conditions that will help the County recruit and retain top quality nurses. We also addressed the way nurses are staffed and scheduled in order to ensure that acuity remains a factor in the nurse-to-patient ratio.”
The nurses had previously been without a contract since October, which prompted them in early April to walk off the job in a three-day strike — the first ever for the labor group — with picket lines at the county’s three hospitals: Valley Medical Center and O’Connor Hospital in San Jose and St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy. The county’s healthcare system is the second-largest county-owned system in the state with one million patient visits annually.
At the time, County Executive James Williams said the county had to shell out more than $20 million to bring in nearly 1,000 contract nurses that worked around-the-clock shifts during the strike. All of the hospitals and clinics remained open during the strike, but some elective surgeries and non-urgent appointments were rescheduled.
In a statement released Saturday, Williams called the nurses “skilled public servants who take care of the most vulnerable in our community.”
“This agreement with RNPA represents our dedication to providing fair contracts for every staff member in our organization, including our nursing professionals,” he said. “We are proud to have reached this agreement, which upholds the County’s commitment to our hardworking nurses and to deliver excellent care to the community while balancing fiscal realities.”
The new contract includes a 15% raise over the next four years, with a 6.5% raise in 2024. Floating between the county hospitals — one of the nurses’ biggest concerns as different hospitals may have different policies and procedures — will also be off the table.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to approve the contract at its next meeting on June 4.