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Published on 02/23/1998 All articles from this issue

El Camino nurses ratify two-year contract

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By Carol Tiegs / Town Crier Staff Writer

Registered nurses at El Camino Hospital Feb. 12 ratified a two-year labor contract with the hospital. The contract provides a wage increase of up to 7 percent over two years, an additional tenure step and retention of benefits.

"It was an overwhelming vote of confidence in our relationship with the new leaders of El Camino Hospital and the district," said Patricia Briggs, an El Camino operating room nurse and president of Professional Resources for Nurses, the nurses' union. "There were about 570 registered nurses eligible to vote and only 22 voted to reject the tentative agreement."

The agreement was reached using interest-based bargaining, a non-confrontational bargaining technique that emphasizes exploring each party's needs and concerns rather than opening negotiations with a list of demands.

Briggs credits current administrator Richard Warren with suggesting use of interest-based bargaining soon after taking charge in 1997.

"I'm really pleased with both teams; they did yeoman's work," Richard Warren said. "Both teams are trying to do what's best for the hospital and had a mutual respect for each other's point of view."

Warren called the contract "firm but fair."