CNA members approve new contract for 25,000 RNs at 19 UC facilities

CNA Members Secure New Contract for UC Registered Nurses

In a significant development, registered nurses have approved a comprehensive new four-year contract, concluded on Saturday, November 22, as reported by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU). This agreement introduces measures to enhance patient safety, bolster nurse retention, and ensures no concessions are made.

"UC nurses were unified in our demands for a contract that reversed and halted UC management’s growing practice of short-staffing facilities, cutting back on resources, and forcing RNs to do more with less support," stated Marlene Tucay, RN at UC Irvine and a member of the bargaining team. "As a result of the commitment of all CNA members, we won a contract that will improve outcomes for nurses and our patients."

The contract's key provisions include:

• Floating protections: Substantial limitations on UC's ability to float RNs between facilities, ensuring that patient safety and nurses’ professional judgment guide all floating decisions.
• Disaster preparedness: UC is required to maintain and share written disaster response plans and provide training for all nurses.
• Technology protections: Nurses are guaranteed a central role in the selection, design, and validation of new technologies, including AI systems.
• RN retention measures: Enhancements to meal and rest breaks, workplace violence prevention policies, an 18.5 percent minimum wage increase over the contract's term, and caps on healthcare cost increases.

Tucay further emphasized, "Our work continues to fight for the highest levels of patient care–that includes holding UC accountable to the standards agreed to in our new contract. It is our union power that will help ensure the UC stays a public good, rather than yet another for-profit health care corporation."

The new contract spans from November 1, 2025, to January 31, 2029, covering 25,000 registered nurses at 19 University of California medical centers and facilities across northern and southern California.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation, boasts more than 100,000 members in over 200 facilities throughout California and over 225,000 RNs nationwide.

---
Read More USA Works News