Members of the California Nurses Association and its affiliate, Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union, have approved new three-year contracts at USC Arcadia (Calif.) Hospital.
The CNA represents more than 600 nurses and more than 500 healthcare workers at the hospital, according to a union news release. USC Arcadia Hospital is part of Los Angeles-based Keck Medicine of USC.
CHEU members, which include certified nursing assistants, licensed vocational nurses, laboratory and radiology technicians, as well as respiratory therapists, approved their contract on June 14, according to the union release. CNA registered nurse members approved their contract on June 22. It is the first contract for CHEU members and the second for CNA members.
"After a long and challenging journey, we have finally reached our goal of a first contract that ensures a safe environment for everyone and a transparent compensation grid that will attract and retain top healthcare talent," Declan Galvin, an ultrasound technologist and a member of the CHEU bargaining team, said in the union release. "I am excited to continue working together, as a team, to provide the best possible care for our patients and staff."
Carly Kammert, RN, a nurse in the labor and delivery unit at USC Arcadia, said, "We won contract language that will help us fight for better working conditions that will not only benefit patients, but the RNs who provide care. Our patients deserve to have the highest standard of care, and our new contract language will help us hold the hospital accountable to providing working conditions that allow us to deliver that high-quality care."
According to CHEU and the CNA, the contracts include health and safety provisions "to ensure nurses and healthcare workers get the highest level of personal protective equipment, including when caring for patients suspected of having COVID."
The union release said the contracts also include comprehensive wage increases.
The CHEU agreement runs from June 15, 2023, to June 14, 2026. The new CNA contract runs from July 2023 to July 2026.
John Peeples, chief human resources officer at USC Arcadia Hospital, provided the following statement to Becker's: "USC Arcadia Hospital is pleased to have a new three-year contract with Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union, the union that represents our technical unit employees and non-professional unit employees. We also reached a three-year agreement with California Nurses Association, which represents our registered nurses. These contracts demonstrate our steadfast commitment to all our caregivers and support our mission of providing quality care to our community. We look forward to our ongoing collaboration with the unions as our hospital continues to integrate into the Keck Medicine of USC family."