Nurses Win Pay Raises in ‘Breakthrough’ Contract With UCSD

UC San Diego nurses have negotiated a 10.5% salary increase in the first year of a two-year contract with the university, the California Nurses Assn. said Thursday.

The agreement, which members will vote on today, goes a long way toward correcting inequities between UCSD nurses’ salaries and those of nurses at other UC campuses, said Rose Ann DeMoro, chief negotiator in the UC talks.

The UC system previously has maintained that salaries should differ between campuses because each city’s has unique salary standards.

“We made breakthroughs on so many fronts with this contract,” said UCSD nurse Paula Mack. “A substantial pay increase, plus rewards for advanced training, plus improved leave and benefits--it’s a wish list that really adds up.”

The nurses won an across-the-board 5.5% increase, plus a new contract step of 5% for the most experienced nurses, for a total increase of 10.5%.

They also will receive higher shift differentials for night and evening work; bonuses for extra shifts or extra weekend work; three extra holidays; maternity leave of six months; and the right to use sick leave for bereavement or family illness.

Per diem nurses’ pay at UCSD will rise 14%, and nurses with advanced certification will be paid an extra $100 a month.

The California Nurses Assn. regards the UCSD agreement as a key victory to inaugurate the union’s push into organizing nurses throughout the county, DeMoro said.

About 350 nurses who work for San Diego County will vote Monday on whether to have the union represent them. The union also is organizing nurses at San Diego General Hospital.