Nurses Contracts

Faced with a severe shortage of nurses in facilities that are being overwhelmed by indigent patients, the Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to award scholarships of up to $20,000 to nursing students who agree to work at Los Angeles County hospitals after graduation. The $700,000 program was approved on a 3-2 vote with supervisors Deane Dana, Kenneth Hahn and Mike Antonovich supporting it.

Negotiators for nurses and owners of St. John's hospitals in Oxnard and Camarillo met briefly Wednesday, but failed to resolve key differences on pay and work conditions that could lead to a nurses' strike next week. Of the 43 contract issues being discussed, 11 have been resolved, both parties said. But none were resolved Wednesday in talks both sides described as frustratingly short and the fault of the other. "Management came in at 4:04 [p.m.

Los Angeles County nurses have set 9 p.m. Monday for a strike unless they reach agreement on a new contract. While most of the 40,000 county employees whose contracts expired Oct. 1 have been offered no pay raise, the 4,500 county nurses have been offered a 5.5% pay raise effective Nov. 1. Dan Savage, research associate for Service Employees International Union, Local 660, said, "The 5.5% for the first year and no guarantee (of a pay raise) the second and third year is inadequate."

Nurses at the county's public hospital have settled a long-standing pay dispute, approving a contract that could bring salary increases for most nurses of up to 10.5% over the next two years. The agreement between county officials and the California Nurses Assn., announced over the weekend, is expected to be approved by the Board of Supervisors in the next couple of weeks, union spokeswoman Yoli Rios said Monday.

A new dispute over health benefits arose late Tuesday, possibly threatening the tentative agreement reached between Los Angeles County and the union representing 40,000 workers. Still, both sides expressed optimism they will soon reach final settlement of a contract dispute that has led to strikes by nurses, welfare workers and other county employees over the last 10 days.

A tentative contract agreement reached late Thursday between management and nurses at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center averted a one-day strike that had been set to start at midnight, officials said. Bob McCloskey of Service Employees International Union, Local 535 said the tentative four-year labor agreement calls for 3% raises during the first year, and raises over the next three years based on pay increases at a group of 41 Southland hospitals.

Los Angeles County health officials and labor leaders braced for a possible nurses strike next week as negotiations were suspended for the weekend. "Things are progressively looking worse and worse," union leader Dan Savage said Friday afternoon. County officials, too, said bargaining efforts "may be breaking down."

Registered nurses at UCI Medical Center in Orange will receive a 3% raise retroactive to Nov. 1 and another 3% raise May 1 under a statewide contract approved this week by about 7,200 nurses working for University of California hospitals and clinics. The previous contract for the nurses expired Nov. 1 but was extended during negotiations between the university and the California Nurses Assn. The two-year contract allows for wages to be renegotiated after one year.

In a possible end to a bitter labor dispute, Kaiser Permanente and thousands of registered nurses in Northern California reached a tentative contract agreement Wednesday. The accord calls for a 12% pay hike over four years and gives nurses a new watchdog role over quality of patient care at the nation's largest HMO, said Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the California Nurses Assn.

A tentative contract agreement was reached Wednesday between Kaiser Permanente and thousands of registered nurses at hospitals and clinics throughout Northern California. The agreement calls for a 12% raise over the next four years, according to Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the California Nurses Assn. Kaiser Permanente spokesman Tom Debley said management was "very pleased with the agreement." "It's a win-win for the nurses and Kaiser Permanente," he said.

Upset over staffing levels and pay, nurses at Encino Hospital have voted to unionize, joining a growing number of unionized hospitals owned by Santa Barbara-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. Union organizers said Saturday they would immediately ask hospital management to negotiate a new contract with better pay and staffing levels for the nurses. Jerry Clute, Encino Hospital chief operating officer, said management would be willing to talk, but saw little room for pay increases.

A tentative contract agreement reached late Thursday between management and nurses at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center averted a one-day strike that had been set to start at midnight, officials said. Bob McCloskey of Service Employees International Union, Local 535 said the tentative four-year labor agreement calls for 3% raises during the first year, and raises over the next three years based on pay increases at a group of 41 Southland hospitals.

In a possible end to a bitter labor dispute, Kaiser Permanente and thousands of registered nurses in Northern California reached a tentative contract agreement Wednesday. The accord calls for a 12% pay hike over four years and gives nurses a new watchdog role over quality of patient care at the nation's largest HMO, said Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the California Nurses Assn.

A tentative contract agreement was reached Wednesday between Kaiser Permanente and thousands of registered nurses at hospitals and clinics throughout Northern California. The agreement calls for a 12% raise over the next four years, according to Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the California Nurses Assn. Kaiser Permanente spokesman Tom Debley said management was "very pleased with the agreement." "It's a win-win for the nurses and Kaiser Permanente," he said.

Barbara Fassbinder, 40, a nurse who became one of the first in the health-care field to become infected with AIDS while on the job. She contracted the HIV virus that causes AIDS in 1986 while treating a patient in an emergency room at a Prairie du Chien, Wis., hospital. She had been pressing a bandage on a patient's wound when the patient's blood mingled with her own through cuts on her hand that she had gotten from gardening.

A new dispute over health benefits arose late Tuesday, possibly threatening the tentative agreement reached between Los Angeles County and the union representing 40,000 workers. Still, both sides expressed optimism they will soon reach final settlement of a contract dispute that has led to strikes by nurses, welfare workers and other county employees over the last 10 days.

A majority of 885 striking nurses at Kaiser Permanente's Hollywood medical center on Tuesday night overwhelmingly ratified a new contract that will boost wages by 10% to 14% this year and will reduce some overtime payments. Nurses, who had been on strike for nine weeks, will begin returning to work at the Sunset Boulevard facility today.

Kaiser Permanente and a union representing 885 registered nurses on Monday announced a tentative settlement of a nine-week strike at Kaiser's Hollywood medical center. Nurses, who struck for higher wages and to resist Kaiser's attempt to cut back overtime payments at the Sunset Boulevard facility, will hold a ratification vote tonight. Union officials predicted easy ratification. A Kaiser spokeswoman said most nurses should be able to return to work Wednesday.

Los Angeles County health officials and labor leaders braced for a possible nurses strike next week as negotiations were suspended for the weekend. "Things are progressively looking worse and worse," union leader Dan Savage said Friday afternoon. County officials, too, said bargaining efforts "may be breaking down."

Los Angeles County nurses have set 9 p.m. Monday for a strike unless they reach agreement on a new contract. While most of the 40,000 county employees whose contracts expired Oct. 1 have been offered no pay raise, the 4,500 county nurses have been offered a 5.5% pay raise effective Nov. 1. Dan Savage, research associate for Service Employees International Union, Local 660, said, "The 5.5% for the first year and no guarantee (of a pay raise) the second and third year is inadequate."