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Thousands of Sharp HealthCare RNs in California ratify historic contract

Photo by: monkeybusinessimages, Getty Images
Thousands of Sharp HealthCare RNs in California ratify historic contract
By UNAC/UHCP Staff ·

SAN DIEGO – The registered nurses (RNs) of Sharp HealthCare have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new three-year contract after more than three months of negotiations.

The new contract gives Sharp nurses new avenues to advocate for safe staffing and patient care, as well as substantial wage increases that will compensate them at rates similar to nurses who work for the University of California-San Diego Health and Kaiser Permanente.

This should help recruit new nurses to Sharp HealthCare, keep experienced nurses at the bedside, and begin to reverse RN turnover rates, which climbed to nearly 17% in 2021-2022. 

“We’ve all been through so much during the last 2½ years of this pandemic. We’re forever changed by that experience,” said Andrea Muir, an RN and vice president of the Sharp Professional Nurses Network (SPNN). “We let management know going in that this was not just another contract negotiation. We bargained a contract that recognizes our contributions and sacrifices during the pandemic, offers real solutions to RN turnover, and respects our need to speak up for our patients and the highest standards of care.”

Highlights of the new agreement:

SPNN, the union representing almost 5,000 Sharp RNs at the bargaining table, held a series of meetings where the nurses reviewed the details of the agreement and then voted online this month. SPNN is an affiliate of UNAC/UHCP, which represents 32,000 registered nurses and other health care professionals in California and Hawaii. UNAC/UHCP is affiliated with the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees and AFSCME.

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