Nurses, DMC close to labor deal

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/302228.html

By KEN CARLSON
[e-mail]

last updated: May 18, 2008 03:11:48 AM

Doctors Medical Center of Modesto and a union representing registered nurses have agreed to terms of a four-year labor contract, union officials said Friday.

The contract would establish a wage system for the hospital's 900 registered nurses that provides for annual raises based on years of service and education. The employees affiliated with the California Nurses Association are expected to vote on the agreement Monday and Tuesday.

The contract would be retroactive to 2006 and run through December 2010.

It's the first labor accord specifically tailored for the nurses at Doctors since the employees voted to align with the CNA in 2006. Last year, the Modesto hospital was included in a master agreement negotiated by the union and Tenet Healthcare Corp. for nine hospitals in California.

But the deal allowed for collective bargaining at individual hospitals.

By the end of the proposed contract, the Modesto nurses would be earning 29 percent to 48 percent higher wages than what they earned before 2006, the union said.

Hospital administration did not respond to a request for comment.

FULL story at link.