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Photo courtesy of the California Nurses Association.

Nurses Ratify Three-Year Contract With Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

The California Nurses Association announced that the tentative agreement reached between the union and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital has been “overwhelmingly approved,” marking the end of a week-long negotiation.

On Friday, the union announced that a new three-year contract had been ratified between the registered nurses (RNs) and Henry Mayo, according to a statement.

“The new agreement is a testament to what nurses united can achieve with strong advocacy and when we raise our collective voice,” said Alyssa Ernstmeyer, an intensive care unit RN. “I am so proud of my colleagues who made a stand for what is right for our patients and our profession.”

Henry Mayo RNs say the new three-year collective bargaining agreement covering 650 nurses will strengthen their ability to protect patients and improve the hospital’s recruitment and retention of experienced RNs.

Highlights of the deal include staffing language around legally mandated meal and rest breaks for RNs, greater RN access to union representatives in the facility, improved protection against unjust discipline for new nurses, language protecting RNs against workplace violence, and pay increases starting at nine percent up to a maximum of 20 percent over the three-year term of the contract, according to officials.

“The agreement is the result of great mobilization, with our nurses coming together in solidarity to win an agreement for all our nurses,” said Susan Salkeld, an RN and case manager. “Our young nurses, in particular, fought to ensure that their more senior colleagues received gains that were fair and equitable.”

On Tuesday, a strike notice was issued by Henry Mayo RNs to the hospital. They had three major requests: a break relief nurse for every unit and every shift so nurses can legally take breaks, better pay based on experience, and better access to their union representatives.

However, later that evening, the union came to a tentative agreement during multiple negotiation meetings.

“We are pleased that the California Nurses Association has withdrawn its strike notice and that we were able to work together to reach a new tentative agreement that will be good for our nurses, our patients, our hospital and our community,” said Patrick Moody, a spokesperson for Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, at the time. “We look forward to the ratification of this new agreement.”

This contract dispute was the most recent in a long line of negotiations between various workers unions and hospital management at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.

In 2015, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital nurses called off a one-day strike in protest of demands made by hospital management that reportedly prevented the two organizations from reaching a new contract agreement.

Related: Henry Mayo Newhall Nurses Call Off One-Day Strike In September

At the time, the 650 registered nurses at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital had worked without a contract for seven months, as the terms offered by the hospital were deemed unacceptable.

According to a 2015 press release relating to the previous dispute, hospital management “insisted” that the registered nurses “surrender their right to report violations of employee rights, covered by federal and state laws, to appropriate public agencies.”

Hospital officials wanted the nurses to agree to arbitration, which would allow the hospital to resolve disputes through an agreed-upon third-party negotiator. Nurses’ union officials said the offer represents a threat to their constitutional rights to use the legal system to resolve a workplace dispute.


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Nurses Ratify Three-Year Contract With Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

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About Michael Brown

Michael Brown has lived in Santa Clarita his whole life. Graduating from Saugus High School in 2016, he continued to stay local by attending The Master’s University, where he achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. Michael joined KHTS in January of 2018 as a news intern, and has since gone on to become the News Director for the KHTS Newsroom. Since joining KHTS, Michael has covered many breaking news stories (both on scene and on air), interviewed dozens of prominent state and federal political figures, and interacted with hundreds of residents from Santa Clarita. When he is not working, Michael enjoys spending time with his family, as well as reading any comic book he can get his hands on.