"UC is very proud of its tradition of providing outstanding patient care and our nurses play a vital role in the delivery of that care," said Gayle Saxton, UC's chief negotiator for the contract. "This contract recognizes our nurses' dedication and service to the public, and it also helps maintain our competitiveness in a very challenging market."
Once ratified by the union, the agreement will be effective from the date of ratification through Sept. 30, 2010, with additional limited subject ("reopener") negotiations beginning later this year, and full contract details will be available at
http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/employees/policies_employee_labor_relations/labor_relations.html
Highlights of the tentative agreement include:
Wages: Nurses will receive market-competitive increases at all locations, totaling approximately $32 million in wage increases through Sept. 30, 2009, including a 2 percent within-range step increase in July 2009. Wages for medical center nurses are supported by hospital revenues, not state funds.
Benefits: Nurses will receive the same excellent health and retirement benefits as other UC employees, at the same cost, with UC paying the vast majority of the benefits costs. Due to a special one-time subsidy UC is employing for its 2009 health benefits, UC employees including nurses will see lower premium increases than they otherwise would, with some nurses seeing decreases in their net monthly medical insurance premiums (details at http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/news/health/0810_health_rates.html).
Retirement plan contributions: Guaranteed bargaining concerning the resumption of contributions to the UC Retirement Plan before any nurse's contributions are required.
Staffing: UC will continue to include meals and breaks when assessing staffing needs.
For more information about these negotiations, go to: www.ucnurses.com
For more news and information about the University of California, please visit: www.universityofcalifornia.edu