Nursing home workers in San Francisco win 7 percent raises in Year 1 of new contract
NUHW members at San Francisco Post Acute recently voted to ratify a three-year contract with significant wage and benefit improvements.
The contract guarantees wage increases of at least 13 percent for workers, with 7 percent raises in the first year to offset rising prices. The agreement also includes improved starting wages, more money for working evening and night shifts, additional vacation days for long-tenured employees as well as an option for NUHW members to cash out sick pay.
“This is the best contract with the biggest raises we’ve ever won, and it’s a testament to our unity and solidarity,” said CNA Luz David.. “We’ve all been dealing with inflation and the rising cost of living in the Bay Area, and now we have a contract that addresses our concerns and will help us retain more caregivers and provide better care.”
Workers were mobilized from the start of negotiations, knowing their bargaining team had a fight ahead of them.
San Francisco Post Acute is owned by the Providence Group, a highly profitable corporation that slashed wages at the facility when it took over in 2015. Workers have been pushing back ever since, winning more improvements in each consecutive contract. In 2019, workers held an informational picket, spoke to the media, and reached out to elected allies, ultimately winning significant raises and improvements to the health plan on the eve of a strike.
“We’re on a winning streak,” David said. “Management knows that we’re determined to fight for each other and our patients, and we’re going to keep winning better wages and working conditions moving forward.”