Striking Stanford nurses reach tentative new contract agreement

STANFORD (CBS SF/BCN) -- The union representing about 5,000 nurses at Stanford Health Care and Lucille Packard Children's Hospital has reached a tentative agreement for a new contract, a move that would end a strike that began Monday.

The Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement, which represents the striking nurses, said the new contract, if approved by membership, would give members a 7% wage increase this year.

The negotiations also resulted in a 5% pay increase effective at the start of next April, another increase effective in April 2024 and large increases to nurses' retirement benefits. The hospitals also has guaranteed an additional week of pre-scheduled vacation for all nurses starting in 2024.

The union's membership still needs to vote through the weekend on whether to approve the agreement.

About 5,000 nurses at Stanford Health Care and Lucille Packard Children's Hospital went on strike Monday, with workers calling on management to improve working conditions and address staff shortages.

The union claimed hospital officials had failed to address low staff retention and high turnover rates and have attempted to withdraw health benefits for striking nurses.

Roughly 93 percent of nurses represented by CRONA voted to authorize the strike earlier this month after their labor contract with Stanford expired March 31. The strike was CRONA's first in more than two decades.