March 11 Session

Dear Colleagues,

Tuesday, March 11, marked the first of three negotiations sessions for the week.

• During the session, we provided CRONA with our initial economic proposal response. It is important to note that this proposal is a starting point for further discussion, and we are dedicated to reaching an agreement that recognizes our nurses and puts us in a place for mutual success.
  
  
  • We are committed to continuing to provide competitive wages based upon the market. Before factoring in any new increases reached as part of these negotiations:
    • Our current LPCH/SHC wage rates are already higher than current Kaiser Permanente wage rates by 1.7% (average of $4.81 more per hour).
    • Our current LPCH/SHC wage rates are already higher than current UCSF wage rates by 0.6% (average of $2.54 more per hour).
      

  • We are committed to being among the market leaders when it comes to benefits.
    • Our team shared how current medical, dental, retirement and PTO benefits for our CRONA nurses compare favorably against national benchmarks.
      
      
  • We are committed to fully supporting our nurses and their careers, and our high retention rates show it. It is our goal that nurses want to stay and grow with us.
    • Our nurses have turnover rates well below other hospitals:
      • 2024 SHC: 6.6%
      • 2024 LPCHS: 5.97%
      • 2023 Benchmark: 18.4% (most recent data available)
        
        
• We encourage you to view our presentation to CRONA, which further highlights many of the things we should all be proud of. The presentation also flags various governmental and other revenue risks that we are actively monitoring and that have already had significant impacts on the healthcare sector, such as:
  • Proposed cuts to Medicaid by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
  • Impacts of tariffs on medical supplies, devices and medications
  • National Institutes of Health funding changes
    
    
• We look forward to continuing these important discussions around economics and all other open issues in our future sessions.
  
  
• The parties have two additional bargaining sessions this week on March 12 and 13.
  
  
• Please visit our website for the latest updates and to submit questions.
  
  

Thank you for your dedication and please stay tuned!