800 Striking Nurses Get Tentative Pact With Two Bay Area Hospitals

BERKELEY — A tentative contract agreement has been reached in the strike by about 800 nurses against two Bay Area hospitals, and a ratification vote by union members is scheduled for today.

The striking California Nurses Assn. and Alta Bates Corp. announced the agreement late Thursday night after a 13-hour bargaining session.

“We are very pleased with the agreement,” said Susan Rosenthal, chief negotiator for the nurses. “It will satisfy the needs of nurses and the hospital.”

Pat Ljutic, a nurse at Herrick Hospital, said a return to work is not likely until after the vote.

Issues Addressed

“We can’t give out details of the agreement but can tell you it addresses both the wage and nursing practice issues we had,” she said. “We will be able to be more involved in professional practice.”

The nurses had contended that they were being stretched too thin by a shortage of nurses. They had also sought higher pay. Nurses at the two hospitals currently make from $25,000 to $34,000 a year.

“We feel the settlement is reasonable for both sides,” said Alta Bates spokesman Carl Smith.

Delay in Service

If the agreement is ratified, it will be Monday at the earliest before both hospitals resume full emergency and medical service, he said, adding that it may be several weeks before dozens of patients transferred to other hospitals are returned.

The nurses, who had been working without a contract since July 1, walked off at Herrick and Alta Bates hospitals in Berkeley on Aug. 7.

The tentative agreement was announced a few hours after 300 nurses at Washington Hospital in Fremont ratified a new two-year contract that calls for a 10% pay raise over two years.

Strike Continues

In Oakland, meanwhile, about 300 nurses at Providence Hospital remained on the picket lines after striking Aug. 4 over wage issues and work conditions. No talks are scheduled in that walkout.

“Hopefully, the agreement at Alta Bates and Herrick will give some momentum to the situation at Providence,” said Lupin Loughborough, a nurses’ association spokesman.

Meantime, administrators and representatives of nurses at Brookside Hospital in San Pablo, Alameda Hospital in Alameda and Children’s Hospital in Oakland continue negotiations.