Nurses urged to reconsider 'last, best, final offers'
(PhysOrg.com) -- Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital sent a letter April 13 urging the nurses union to reconsider the hospitals' "last, best and final offers." Six days earlier, members of the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement, or CRONA, voted to reject the offers, though they did not vote to strike.
CRONA is an independent union representing about 2,700 nurses at SHC and LPCH. The current three-year contract expired on March 31.
During the first three months of the year, there were 20 negotiation sessions between the hospitals and the union’s leadership and negotiation team.
In the letter, Dale Spartz and Greg Souza, vice presidents of human resources, respectively, at SHC and LPCH, said the final offers were the result of “significant and multiple revisions,” which include concessions on the part of the two hospitals to some of the unions counterproposals.
“The terms presented in our last, best and final offers are excellent,” Spartz and Souza wrote. “They reflect adjustments that are fair and equitable, while also extending increases and benefits that are very generous, and, in some cases, far better than what are offered at other area hospitals.”
The offers remain on the table, the letter said, urging the union to reconsider them.
The union has said it plans to present a “comprehensive counterproposal” and asked for more negotiations.
The letter from Spartz and Souza said: “We will of course accept for review any proposals you wish to present through the mediator or by direct submission to our lead negotiator. However, if they do not fall within the parameters of our last, best and final offers, we see no reason or purpose to be served by further meetings.”
According to Sarah Staley, a spokesperson for the hospitals, the offers would provide an increase in compensation for nurses in the range of 10 to 12 percent over the three-year period.
“It’s an extraordinarily generous contract,” said Staley, “and it’s a salute to how much we value our nurses.”
Staley noted that nurses stand to gain a $3,000 bonus if there is resolution on the hospitals’ final offer without any strike notice. In the meantime, she said, the hospitals have contingency plans in place should a future vote by the nurses result in notice of a strike.
“We are committed to ensuring patient safety,” said Staley, “which means we have identified replacement nurses as a precautionary step.
“Our first priority is to our patients, and we will do whatever is necessary to ensure they receive the care they need,” she added.
Provided by Stanford University Medical Center
