[medi]

STOCKTON - Dameron Hospital and its registered nurses have quietly crafted a new labor agreement calling for raises of up to 29 percent over the life of the four-year contract.

The tentative pact calls for new nursing graduates to start at more than $32 an hour, while experienced nurses with at least 21 years on the job would make in excess of $48 an hour the last year of the contract.

In addition to a substantial wage increase, the contract contains language emphasizing a number of patient-safety provisions, including AB394, California's nurse staffing-ratio law.

Full Article: http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.d...603250308/1003

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Key Points:

1. Substantial raises
2. Patient Safety Provisions
3. a policy that restricts the unsafe practice of floating (Hooray!!)
4. Safe patient lifting and handling language
5. A means to enforce California's nurse staffing-ratio law

Congratulations Stockton Nurses!