UC, Nurses Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — After nine months of negotiations, a tentative contract agreement has been reached between the University of California and thousands of registered nurses.

The deal covers 11,700 nurses, who are represented by the California Nurses Association (CNA), and are employed in medical and student-health facilities on UC campuses across the state.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with CNA that maintains competitive market wages and benefits for our hard-working nurses and recognizes the excellent patient care they provide every day at our medical centers and student health centers," said Dwaine Duckett, UC vice president for systemwide human resources.

"We also appreciate CNA's commitment to and partnership in working through the issues at the bargaining table," Duckett added in a statement posted on the Regents of the University of California website.

The agreement calls for a series of salary increases over the next four years along with continued access to health insurance.

The tentative deal also includes a "no-strikes" provision barring nurses from striking during the life of the contract.

Once ratified by the union, the contract is expected to be effect through July 31, 2017.

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