Caregivers at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center Ratify Contract With Big Raises to Address Understaffing
TARZANA, Calif. — After seven months of negotiations, nearly 600 workers at Providence Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Tarzana have ratified a four-year contract that will boost wages by an average 40 percent.
The 245-bed hospital has experienced unsustainable worker turnover in recent years in part because its wages for key caregiver positions were 22 percent below what nearby unionized hospitals were paying, according to data collected by the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Of the nearly 600 workers who authorized a picket of the hospital that took place last December, 28 percent have been at the hospital for less than one year.
Hospital workers, including licensed vocational nurses, nursing assistants, housekeepers, medical technicians and respiratory therapists, will now receive market wages, making it easier for the hospital to recruit and retain caregivers.
“This contract is going to make our hospital a better place for caregivers and patients,” said Jonathan Mexicanos, a respiratory therapist at Tarzana. “We’ve lost too many good caregivers because they were underpaid and the hospital was understaffed; but now Tarzana should be able to hire more caregivers and keep them here serving our patients.”
The agreement includes:
- Cost of living raises and higher salary steps that will increase overall wages for workers by an average of 40 percent over four years.
- A $1,500 ratification bonus for full time workers and $750 for part time workers.
- Recognition of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
- Clearer path for part-time workers to get full time status.
“The raises I will get under this contract will help me support my family, especially with prices continuing to rise. I’m so proud of my coworkers for standing together to win fair wages and help make Tarzana a safely-staffed hospital,” said housekeeper Isabel Reynoso.