Registered nurses at Oakland-based University of California have ratified a new four-year contract covering 25,000 nurses at 19 facilities.
Voting on the agreement — which includes provisions aimed at improving retention and patient safety — ended Nov. 22, according to a news release from California Nurses Association/National Nurses United. The union represents nurses across the UC system, including at six academic health centers and four children’s hospital campuses.
A tentative deal was reached Nov. 16, canceling plans for a two-day systemwide strike. The new contract is effective Nov. 22, 2025, through Jan. 2, 2030, according to the release.
The union and university began contract negotiations in June. The union said the ratified agreement includes the following provisions:
- Limits on floating registered nurses between facilities, with assurances that decisions will prioritize patient safety and nurses’ professional judgment
- Enhanced policies on meal and rest breaks and workplace violence prevention
- A minimum 18.5% wage increase over the four-year contract
- Technology protections ensuring nurses are involved in selecting and designing new technologies, including artificial intelligence tools
Missy Matella, associate vice president for systemwide employee and labor relations at UC, said in a Nov. 16 statement that the then-tentative agreement “reflects the tireless work and collaboration of UC’s bargaining team, medical center leaders, and systemwide leadership working hand in hand with our dedicated nurses. We’re grateful to the nurses and the CNA bargaining team for their partnership and shared commitment to what matters most: our patients and the UC community.”
“UC nurses were unified in our demands for a contract that reversed and halted UC management’s growing practice of short-staffing facilities, cutting back on resources, and forcing RNs to do more with less support,” Marlene Tucay, RN, a nurse at UC Irvine, said in the release. “As a result of the commitment of all CNA members, we won a contract that will improve outcomes for nurses and our patients.”
