After months of bargaining, unionized nurses on Thursday voted to ratify a new three-year contract with Rady Children's Hospital, averting a second strike that was planned for next week.
United Nurses of Children's Hospital Teamsters Local 1699 had been preparing for a five-day strike of more than 1,600 employees at Rady Children's Hospital starting at 7 a.m. Monday and ending at 6:59 a.m. Aug. 24, following previous failed negotiations between the hospital and the union. With the new deal, the strike will no longer happen.
"UNOCH understands that the last few months have been hard on all of us, we have had moments of disagreements and moments of intensity. We would like to thank everyone for their engagement. UNOCH has never seen anything like it," the union said in part of a statement to its members after the vote. "We look forward to settling back into our new normal that we hope includes the unity we felt. UNOCH will continue to work hard to meet the needs of the membership and get the contract implemented smoothly."
In a statement to NBC 7, Rady Children's Hospital said, in part, "Rady Children's values every member of our workforce and will focus on moving forward as a united Team Rady. Together we remain steadfast in our commitment to our mission and serving the children in our community."
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The latest contract offer builds on an Aug. 3 contract offer and adds an additional increase of $1.6 million in the form of a $1,000 bonus for every registered nurse in the bargaining unit.
"Given this context... there is no doubt that we have reached a pivotal moment in these negotiations," according to the union. "While we realize this last offer is not perfect, our collective efforts over the last few months have resulted in the best contract offer in decades. The across-the-board wage increases and market adjustments make us competitive or surpassing other San Diego hospitals."
The offer was Rady Children's Hospital's "Last, Best and Final Offer," and if members did not ratify it, the hospital's proposal for year one across-the-board increases would have been reduced from the current 9% to 8%.
As a result of UNOCH filing its 10-day notice to strike last week, Rady Children's Hospital entered its strike contingency plan to "ensure the hospital can continue to be the pediatric safety net for the community's children and families."
Both sides claimed they were open to negotiations in good faith with the other. The union was allowed to withdraw its 10-day notice before the strike was scheduled to commence Monday.
The first time the nurses went on strike during this negotiation process was for two days in late July. Rady Children's Hospital said they brought in 400 nurses from different hospitals to cover the striking nurses.
The union represents professional nurses, therapists and technicians dedicated to the care of infants, children and their families.
