Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Tuesday, June 27, 1989
Elaine Herscher, Chronicle Staff Writer
"We achieved our goal, and you don't get to say that very often," said Donna Casey Gerber, business agent for Local 790. "No question about it, these are great wage rates. Our members have earned these wage rates . . ." Gerber, weary after 28 hours of round-the-clock talks, said the negotiating team unanimously voted to recommend the wage and benefits package, and it expects easy approval from the union's members.
The contract affects nearly 1,000 nurses at San Francisco General, about 225 at Laguna Honda and the rest at the City Prison, public health clinics and mental health clinics. The package includes a 13 percent pay increase effective July 1, with an additional 2 percent on January 1. About 70 percent of the nurses will get an additional 3 percent increase, based on seniority, on July 1, 1990. The raises will cost the city $13.4 million.
The pact also includes hiring an additional 25 nurses at General to improve the nurse-to-patient ratio and establishes minimum staffing levels in the busiest departments. Gerber said the more attractive wages and working conditions will help General hire more nurses so that, among other things, the hospital can stop turning away emergency room patients. "It makes a city nursing job in San Francisco extremely attractive and will help us recruit, train and retain top-quality nurses," Mayor Art Agnos said. "It's a victory for nurses, patients and the city." In addition to wage and staffing improvements, the contract provides $300,000 for three years for employees' child care.
The nurses also won a victory for future workers infected with the AIDS virus on the job. "Jane Doe," the first of the city's nurses to become HIV-infected on the job, settled with the city only weeks ago after fighting for almost two years to keep her legal right to confidentiality and also collect worker compensation benefits. In the future, Gerber said, only two city employees would know the name of any nurse infected on the job. It is the same right granted to Doe. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the pact on first reading yesterday and will vote on it formally on Saturday if the nurses accept it.
Copyright © 1989 - San Francisco Chronicle Press. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the San Francisco Chronicle, Permissions Desk, 901 Mission Street, San Franciso, CA 94103. You may also send a fax to (415) 495-3843, or an email message to chronperm@sfgate.com. http://www.sfgate.com.
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