Nursing Home Workers Secure Major Contract Wins in Bay Area

Nursing Home Workers Achieve Significant Contract Victories in Bay Area

March marked a significant triumph for NUHW members at two Bay Area recovery centers, where workers leveraged their readiness to strike to secure strong contracts.

San Francisco Post Acute

At San Francisco Post Acute, 46 NUHW members were on the brink of commencing a two-day strike when they successfully secured a contract, which was promptly ratified.

The agreement entails an immediate 10 percent wage increase. Over the course of the three-year contract, wages will increase between 20 and 24 percent.

Nursing assistants, restorative nursing assistants, cooks, and cleaning staff also obtained a wage scale applicable to all workers, alongside retroactive pay dating back to November 2025, following the expiration of their previous contract.

“Everything is very happy,” expressed Luz David, a nursing assistant with 23 years at the 168-bed recovery center. “We were asking for better wages because the salaries were not enough.”

In addition to these gains, the workers:

• Prevented management's attempt to remove extra pay for night shifts
• Secured increases in sick leave accumulation up to 80 hours
• Added an extra holiday for workers to choose
• Gained three paid bereavement leave days for full-time workers
• Achieved protections against outsourcing

The strike threat notably influenced the negotiations, especially when workers displayed strike signs in front of cameras during Zoom negotiations. Though the company’s lawyer called it “bullshit,” David noted it only strengthened the workers’ resolve to fight for a fair contract.

“They thought they were going to intimidate us or scare us into not striking,” David recounted. “They realized the more they pushed, the stronger we pushed back.”

Novato Healthcare Center

Similarly, workers at Novato Healthcare Center were poised to strike to prevent Brius, the facility owner, from implementing a rotating schedule that would have forced many weekday shift workers to begin weekend work.

Already frustrated by the administration's preferential assignment of extra shifts, workers organized and ultimately approved a strike vote. This led management to indefinitely postpone the shift changes, which had already been delayed for a month, and negotiate an agreement regarding extra shifts that was added to the current contract.

The agreement prevents favoritism and ensures NUHW members are the first to be offered extra days, double shifts, and overtime before hiring external workers, promoting equitable income opportunities based on seniority. It also protects workers’ schedules, preventing disruptions to childcare and other jobs they may hold.

“We just want a fair deal and to ensure our patients receive the best care possible,” commented registered nursing assistant Jesus “David” Munoz. “This agreement achieves that and demonstrates our determination to fight for our rights.”

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