Impact

Former SFRNA Members Win Settlements in Prime 9 Case

The four UNAC/UHCP-St. Francis Registered Nurses Association members who were unfairly terminated have reached a settlement with Prime Healthcare-St. Francis Medical Center.Scott Byington, SFRNA President Emeritus, James Blankenship,Maricela Barajas, and Arlene Nielsen successfully reached a substantial settlement reflecting the unfair terminations that occurred in December 2023.  UNAC/UHCP Legal Director Jun Lim on behalf of UNAC/UHCP-SFRNA was also able to successfully negotiate the restoration of access to SFMC for Karina Leon, working in UNAC/UHCP Member Engagement, who suffered the unfair removal of access to SFMC after the 2023 action.

United Nurses and Health Care Employees of Hawaii

On January 6, 2025, UNAC/UHCP members at Maui Health/Kaiser Permanente ratified a historic contract. This agreement, reached after 26 bargaining sessions and a three-day unfair labor practice strike, includes enforceable staffing levels and wage increases ranging from a minimum of 21% to as high as 97.52% over the life of the agreement. These unprecedented gains set a new standard for patient care in Maui. ​ 

Chino Valley Registered Nurses Association

For years, Chino Valley Medical Center had one of the highest turnover rates due to low compensation, but our nurses fought hard to win a contract with major pay improvements to help recruit and retain staff.

Sharp Professional Nurses Network

In 2022, SPNN members approved a three-year contract addressing recruitment and retention, with competitive raises, improved nurse and patient advocacy rights, and additional benefits.

St. Francis Registered Nurses Association 

Ratified a new contract on December 11, 2023. The agreement includes a 9% wage increase, additional 3% increases for 2024 and 2025, a 12-week orientation for new graduates, and expanded protections for nurses.

Beverly Hospital Registered Nurses Association

On February 3 and 4, 2022, BHRNA members voted to ratify a new three-year contract, securing significant wage increases, improved float language, and increased differentials and on-call pay.

UNAC/UHCP played a key role in securing California’s nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, such as SB 327, which have improved patient outcomes and reduced mortality. We continue to fight for similar protections in Hawai‘i.

Read more here. 

PVRNA – Reinstatement and $45,000 Settlement

A registered nurse and former union officer at Paradise Valley Hospital was unfairly fired—but with UNAC/UHCP support, the member won a settlement including $45,000 and reinstatement to a preferred department.

Instead of returning to the same department where the issue occurred, the member was allowed to return to a unit they enjoyed working in. This was the first arbitration case for the Paradise Valley Registered Nurses Association (PVRNA), and it resulted in a major win for the team.

KSDHCPA – $50,000 Settlement After Termination

A terminated member from Kaiser San Diego chose not to return to the workplace after finding a higher-paying job shortly after being let go.

Still, UNAC/UHCP negotiated a $50,000 settlement—more than double the amount the member would have received if the case had gone to arbitration, even with backpay limited to two weeks.

(Backpay refers to wages owed from the time of termination.)

KPRNA – Full Backpay After Improper Discipline

A charge nurse at Kaiser Permanente received a Level 4 disciplinary action and was demoted from their leadership position. UNAC/UHCP argued during mediation that the employer’s disciplinary rules—outlined in the Blue Book contract—do not permit demotions as a disciplinary action.

The employer agreed to a settlement that includes full backpay dating back to 2017, when the Level 4 should have expired. Since the member had already been restored to the charge role, no additional relief was needed.

(A Level 4 is a serious disciplinary level. A charge nurse is responsible for overseeing a team of nurses on a shift.)

UNHCEH – Sick Leave Settlement Clarifies Contract Language

In a recent arbitration over contract interpretation, UNAC/UHCP successfully advocated for a UNHCEH member, ensuring the grievant was fully compensated. The dispute involved unclear language regarding when employees could start using their accrued sick leave—specifically, whether sick leave was accessible after three calendar days of illness or three missed workdays.

As part of the settlement, UNAC/UHCP secured a favorable outcome for the member and clarified the contract language to prevent future misunderstandings, strengthening protections for all employees covered by the agreement.

UNAC/UHCP continues to grow and empower healthcare professionals across California and Hawaii, expanding our collective voice to advocate effectively for improved patient care, workplace safety, and professional respect. We’re proud to welcome these new groups into our union family:

• Southern California Kaiser Healthcare Professionals (HCP)
  Registered Dietitians, Health Educators, Speech-Language Pathologists, Audiologists

• Northern California Kaiser Physician Assistants (PAs)

• Northern California Kaiser Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs)

• Sharp Rees-Stealy Advanced Practice Providers (APP)
  Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives

• Northern California Kaiser Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs)

• Southern California Kaiser Child Life Specialists (CLS)
  Accreted into our existing affiliate DASH

• Maui Memorial Per Diems
  Ancillary Staff, Technical Staff, Registered Nurses, Healthcare Professionals; accreted into existing chapter UNHCEH

• Sharp Chula Vista Healthcare Professionals (HCP)
  Dietitians, Pharmacists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Social Workers, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists

• Hawaii Kaiser Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs)

• Northern California Kaiser Acupuncturists

Together, we’re shaping the future of healthcare. Join us as we continue to organize, advocate, and win!

A poetic tribute to the healers and fighters by UNAC/UHCP Communicator and published poet Jeff Rogers.
October 2024

Together, we mosaic.
From all our separate points of origin
and lines of demarcation, we gather:
Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Philippines;
Hawai’i, Mexico, San Rafael, and East LA;
Mobile, Alabama; Murfreesboro, Tennessee; St. Genevieve, Missouri.
From the groves, the waters, the woods and the valleys:
Garden Grove, Lakewood, Riverside,
Antelope Valley, Bear Valley, Chino Valley and Paradise Valley.
From all our separate homes and hospitals,
cities and clinics, we gather.

Together, we chorus.
Each of us found our separate ways to healthcare,
to union, to our individual voices
and the courage to speak out.

Together, we raise one voice
to soar above the noise in 40,000-part harmony—
a voice that compels listening
and once heard cannot be unheard.
On my own journey to find my poet’s voice
I took an unexpected detour into a union—
AFSCME Local 800—where I found the voices
of coworkers—wrapped them into one roped voice so urgent
that it carried across the gulf of a cold hard bargaining table.

Together, we rose to hold greed and power accountable
and I learned forever the beauty of union:
even one person who cares joined with others who care
can force change against stubborn opposition.

Together, we save lives.
Nurse, caregiver, organizer, leader, unit clerk, or communicator—
every role plays its part in the chain of care.
We witness. We help. We find the vein.
We hold the hands of the living and dying,
hold the space for fear, pain, and joy.
Each at the bedside, in our units, offices,
delivery rooms and patient homes—
We take on the tough stuff. We do not turn away.
We heal wounds, attend monitors, rehab joints
and muscles and tendons. We look deep into scared eyes,
dispense medicine and midwife babies into the world.
We grow into our lone voices to rise and demand
that each patient be treated as a singular human being
because we know that every person is a whole world
of life and connection, worthy of care, irreplaceable.

Together, we showed up for our patients and the world.
We worked through a global pandemic, rode straight
at that fire-spitting dragon in our faceplates and PPE armor
with open eyes, open hearts and open hands.
Some of us have seen and endured
things no one should ever have to experience.
Separately, we struggled, suffered, even despaired.
Still, together we stood up to history and did what had to be done.

A COVID-era painting capturing our resilience.

Painting donated to UNAC/UHCP in June 2020 by artist Idie Weinsoff, who is based in Marin County.

UNAC/UHCP is partnering with StoryCorps to amplify the voices of frontline healthcare workers. Our members are recording powerful stories to drive change in their workplaces and their communities.

StoryCorps is a national nonprofit that records, preserves, and shares stories to create a more just and compassionate world.

Listen to and explore members’ firsthand experiences at https://archive.storycorps.org

Search for “UNAC/UHCP.”