Sharp Nurses and Management Reach Tentative Contract Settlement to Address RN Recruitment & Retention

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December 2, 2016

Contact: Jeff Rogers, Communications Specialist
Jeff.Rogers@unacuhcp.org | 909-263-7230

Sharp Nurses and Management Reach Tentative Contract Settlement to Address RN Recruitment & Retention

SAN DIEGO—The registered nurses of Sharp HealthCare have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract, after months of negotiations which saw a November 28 strike by the Sharp nurses narrowly averted by last minute negotiations.

The Sharp Professional Nurses Network (SPNN), the union representing almost 5,000 Sharp nurses at the bargaining table, plans to hold a series of meetings next week, from Monday, December 5 through Thursday, December 8, where the nurses will hear the details of the agreement and have a chance to discuss and vote on it. The Sharp nurse bargaining team is recommending the members vote yes to ratify the contract.

The votes will be counted at noon on Thursday, December 8 and the result announced when the count is complete. The count is expected to take less than an hour.

“In recent years, we have watched more and more nurses leave Sharp for better-paying hospitals across the county,” said Christina Magnusen, RN, President of SPNN. “We have struggled to get management to understand that they need to pay competitive wages to keep our well-trained, experienced nurses at the bedside, and recruit nurses who will want to make a career here at Sharp. Some called us greedy, though we’re the ones who’ve stayed. We love our jobs, we love our patients, and that’s why we stay and fight to make Sharp better.”

“As nurses, we are patient advocates. When all nurses are united, we can raise a stronger voice to advocate for our patients,” said Denise Duncan, RN, President of UNAC/UHCP, of which SPNN is an affiliate. “The unity of Sharp nurses won this agreement. Hundreds attended the negotiating sessions for months, and rallied at the convention center in October. Thousands of nurses were prepared to give up a week’s pay to win a contract that will recruit and retain the best nurses, who can give the San Diego community the best possible patient care.”

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The Sharp Professional Nurses Network (SPNN) is an affiliate of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) which represents over 26,000 registered nurses and other health care professionals, including optometrists; pharmacists; physical, occupational and speech therapists; case managers; nurse midwives; social workers; clinical lab scientists; physician assistants and nurse practitioners. UNAC/UHCP is affiliated with the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO.