Tenet Reaches New Labor Accord With California Nurses Assn.

DALLAS .– Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) announced today that it has reached a labor accord with the California Nurses Assn. that includes a new, four-year collective bargaining agreement and wage increases for nurses represented by the CNA at nine Tenet hospitals in California. These hospitals are:

• Community Hospital of Los Gatos. 143 beds.
• Desert Regional Medical Center. Palm Springs. 367 beds.
• Doctors Medical Center of Modesto. 465 beds.
• Los Alamitos Medical Center. 167 beds.
• San Ramon Regional Medical Center. 123 beds.
• Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center. San Luis Obispo. 165 beds.
• Twin Cities Community Hospital. Templeton. 84 beds.
• USC University Hospital. Los Angeles. 265 beds.
• USC Norris Cancer Hospital. Los Angeles. 60 beds.

The new California wage agreement is subject to a ratification vote by nurses, which has begun. The agreement would continue Tenet’s standard benefits package and set predictable wage increases over the next four years. Upon ratification, CNA-affiliated nurses would receive a 4 percent annual increase and an additional 2.5 percent increase six months after the first raise. The agreement also establishes annual raises in the second, third and fourth years plus an additional pool of money to create a wage scale system that would give additional increases to nurses based on such things as years of experience and specialization.

In the interest of a continued, cooperative working relationship, Tenet and the CNA also entered into a separate, five-year peace accord that contains a process to resolve issues between the parties. The five-year accord also grants the CNA and its national affiliate certain limited rights to attempt to organize nurses at some Tenet hospitals outside California.