Members of SEIU 121RN have approved a new labor contract with Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, Calif., part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, hospital and union spokespeople confirmed to Becker's.
The three-year agreement, approved Jan. 17, covers about 800 nurses at the hospital.
It includes the following provisions, according to the union:
- Creation of a new safety committee and a commitment to review workplace violence trends.
- Paid, in-person workplace violence training.
- New limitations on the flexing of nurses and support staff based on staffing levels.
- Cumulative across-the-board wage increases of 17.6% over the life of the contract.
- Ratification bonus of $2,250 for full-time RNs and $1,500 for part-time RNs.
- New steps on the wage scale.
"After seven months of negotiations, a strike, and two ratification votes, Los Robles Regional Medical Center nurses have finally won a contract they can build on to address the ongoing crisis of unsafe staffing at their hospital," Rosanna Mendez, executive director at SEIU 121RN, said in a statement shared with Becker's. "Now, the work of holding the hospital accountable to the contract begins."
HCA Healthcare Far West Division spokesperson Carmella Gutierrez shared the following statement: "We are pleased they have voted to ratify the agreement, the terms of which essentially remain the same as our original agreement. And we are proud of our track record for patient safety. We are consistently recognized as the best of the best among hospitals across the country for patient safety from independent organizations. For example, Healthgrades recently named our hospital among the top 5% in the nation for patient safety and awarded us the 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award and is among America's 250 Best Hospitals in 2023. And for the 11th time in a row, Leapfrog Group has rated Los Robles Grade 'A' for patient safety."