Five months after successfully fighting for mid-contract raises of up to 15 percent, NUHW members at Novato Healthcare Center won a new contract in September that will further increase their salaries while lowering their healthcare costs.
The approximately 130 NUHW members at the Bay Area nursing home, who include cooks, licensed vocational nurses, laundry aides, and nursing assistants, will receive raises of at least 9 percent over the next three years. The contract also includes additional raises for longer-tenured workers, six weeks of retro pay, and reductions ranging from $32 to $291 in the monthly healthcare premiums.
“This is the strongest contract we’ve ever won,” said Ida Bantilan, a certified nursing assistant at the nursing home. “From the onset, our priorities in negotiations were raises and lower healthcare costs and I’m proud of us for being ready to strike and forcing the employer to give us a fair contract.”
The agreement came after the workers at the Brius-owned facility authorized a strike. They had demonstrated their unity and determination to management over the past in their successful fight for mid-contract raises. When management only agreed to mid-contract raises for nursing staff last fall, the workers stayed united and staged several marches on the boss until management extended the raises for all NUHW members earlier this year.
“We’re on a winning streak with our mid-contract raises and this new contract,” Bantilan said. “We’re going to keep building our strength to win better contracts in the future.”
The contract also expands bereavement leave from three to five days for full-time employees, and up to five unpaid days for non full-time employees.
