On Friday, July 10, 2020 Alameda Health System (AHS) met with the California Nurses Association (CNA) to continue negotiations to secure a new collective bargaining agreement for the Alameda Hospital (AH) registered nurses.
The parties had meaningful dialogue and among the articles discussed and proposed by Alameda Hospital include the following:
Article 7 – Hours of Work. Before AH moves forward with the implementation of alternative shifts (e.g., 12-hour shifts), AH will take the proposal to the nurses in the impacted unit for a vote. Only if a majority of the nurses vote in favor, will the alternative shift be implemented.
Article 22 – Reduction in Staff. AHS has also proposed to provide a 30-day notice to impacted nurses and CNA or pay in lieu of in the event of a layoff, an increase from the previous notice requirement of 14 days. Moreover, AHS has proposed that in the event of a cancellation, if a nurse is scheduled to work and is cancelled with less than 2 hours’ notice but before reporting to work, that nurse shall be paid 1 hour of pay for the day.
In addition, the parties were able to reach a tentative agreement on 2 articles:
Article 2 – Coverage. The contract language about who is covered by the MOU was clarified.
Article 4 – Staffing. A notable change is that Service-As-Needed (SAN) nurses will no longer have to provide their availability based on the hospital’s needs but can instead provide availability based on their own schedules.
AHS is committed to the bargaining process and we will continue to negotiate in good faith and hope to reach a fair agreement that provides nurses with competitive salaries and benefits and ensures our ability to deliver quality care by attracting and retaining nurses in a sustainable manner.
The next two CNA Alameda Hospital unit bargaining sessions are scheduled for July 29th, 2020 and August 5th, 2020.