Stanford Nurses Vote To End Strike, Expected Back At Work Tuesday

PALO ALTO, CA — Stanford nurses overwhelmingly approved a new contract on Monday, ending a week-long strike at Stanford Health Care and Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital.

Nurses are expected to be back at work on Tuesday.

Around 83 percent of nurses who went on strike approved the contract, which The Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement (CRONA) – the union representing around 5,000 nurses at the hospital – said includes a 7 percent wage increase this year, a 5 percent increase starting next year and another increase in April 2024.

"This was not only a win with all the contract provisions we’ve made changes to, but a win just with our feelings that the hospitals have recognized the importance of their nurses," said Colleen Borges, the president of CRONA, in a news briefing Monday.

The union also said the new three-year contract includes requirements for acuity-based staffing, improvements to medical benefits after retirement, mental health support and the right to pre-schedule an additional week of vacation.

"After extensive discussions, we were able to reach a contract that reflects our shared priorities and enhances existing benefits supporting our nurses’ health, well-being, and ongoing professional development," Stanford Health Care representatives said in a statement Monday. "We appreciate the incredible effort that our entire health care workforce put forward last week."

Ninety-three percent of nurses voted to issue the strike notice in April after the union and hospital failed to reach a deal despite 13 weeks of negotiations.

Kathy Stormberg, the vice president of CRONA, described the sticking points as a "philosophical difference in how we approached things." Stormberg said the nurses decided to go on strike because of the workload the hospital was putting on nurses.

"With our package proposal, it was our intention to make nursing more sustainable," Stormberg said. "The hospital came to us with the proposal that it was their goal to make nurses more available."

Stormberg called the hospital's initial proposal "out of touch," because nurses were "to the point of actually harming ourselves in our response to the hospital to meet their demand for more nurses to work more hours."

In a statement last week, Stanford Health Care representatives acknowledged that the negotiations "have been difficult for everyone."

"We can all take pride in this agreement," the statement read. "And we are proud of our team for maintaining continuity of care for our patients."

It continued: "It's vital that we focus on recovering and reconnecting as a community. We appreciate the kindness and support you continue to extend to one another in the weeks ahead. We remain fundamentally united in our mission."

CRONA hopes that the negotiations can stand as an example for other nurses' unions .

"We do know that other unions are watching us," Stormberg said. "We do hope this will help other unions and other nurses who may want to unionize to achieve needs in their own bargaining efforts to elevate our entire profession."