USC Arcadia Hospital nurses and health care workers ratify new contracts with strong measures to improve patient safety and retention

Registered nurses and health care workers at USC Arcadia Hospital in Arcadia, Calif. voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying their respective three-year contracts on Nov. 5 and 6, winning protections to improve patient safety and nurse and health care worker retention, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) and Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union (CHEU). NNU is the largest and fastest-growing union of registered nurses in the nation.

"Caring for our patients is at the heart of what we do," said Shannon Vandelac, RN in the critical care unit. "This contract victory is a huge step in continuing to provide excellent patient care that our community deserves."

Highlights of the nurse contract include: workplace violence protections, staffing improvements, wage increases averaging 15.84 percent over the life of the contract, and no takeaways:

• Safe staffing improvements, including more resource nurses, and giving bedside nurses a voice in how to best implement this critical resource on the units.
• Workplace violence prevention language that expands the protections for bedside nurses.
• Investment in education: New certification pay language for education so nurses can continue expanding their knowledge and skills.
• Economic gains to help retain and recruit experienced nurses. The agreement includes an average of 15.84 percent wage increase over the life of the contract and five additional steps to the wage grid.
• No contract takeaways

The new pact covers the period Nov. 5, 2026 to June 30, 2029.

"We are very proud to serve the community of Arcadia," said Gi Park, RN in the cardiac telemetry unit.

In addition to registered nurses, members of Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union (CHEU) also ratified their contract on Nov. 6. CHEU is an affiliate of CNA and represents more than 740 health care workers at USC Arcadia, including respiratory therapists, nursing aides, and laboratory workers.

Highlights of the health care workers' contract include: workplace violence protections, staffing improvements, wage increases averaging 21.01 percent over the life of the contract, and no takeaways:

• Workplace violence prevention language expanding protections for health care workers
• Increase of standby rate to $23.00 which will follow the health care minimum wage.
• Non-discrimination language: Strengthening protection for members from discrimination, retaliation, and harassment. Also, includes remedies for members subjected to any of these.
• Economic gains to help retain and recruit experienced staff. The agreement includes an average of 17.62 percent wage increase for technical bargaining unit employees and 21.15 increases for non-professional bargaining unit employees over the life of the contract and two additional steps to the wage grid.

"We work hard for our patients because we love our patients," said Maggie Cervantes, a nursing assistant in the telemetry unit. "This is a contract fight that I am proud to have been a part of because we focused on the recruitment and retention of health care workers."

CNA represents more than 780 nurses at USC Arcadia Hospital and CHEU represents 740 ancillary health care workers at USC Arcadia Hospital.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and more than 225,000 RNs nationwide.