SAN DIEGO — Nearly 5,000 frontline health care employees at Sharp HealthCare have voted to ratify their first union contract, union and company officials announced Saturday.
The three-year contract spans multiple facilities including Sharp Grossmont Hospital, Sharp HospiceCare, Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center and Sharp Metropolitan Medical Campus.
The deal includes the following elements:
-- Pay increases up to 35%.
-- Family medical coverage.
-- One collective bargaining agreement that covers all SEIU-UHW- represented Sharp HealthCare workers.
"We are gratified that after 18 months of negotiations, our common interests ultimately took center stage, resulting in a mutually agreeable contract," Sharp HealthCare President and CEO Christopher Howard said. "We feel that the teams solidified an agreement that respects, values and rewards our Sharp team members and allows the parties to turn the page and focus on the future of Sharp HealthCare, as well as our commitment to caring for the San Diego community."
Ratification of the CBA followed the tentative agreement reached between the parties earlier this month, after months of negotiations that received attention from individuals and entities across the country, including acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su.
"Frontline workers at Sharp HealthCare have shown what is possible through unity," said Dave Regan, president of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West. "We want to express our profound gratitude to Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su and the Biden administration for their support of workers' right to bargain collectively and their efforts to help the parties reach an agreement that addresses the needs of Sharp HealthCare workers and their patients."
SEIU-UHW members at Sharp HealthCare include certified nursing assistants, phlebotomists, licensed vocational nurses, respiratory care practitioners, pharmacy technicians, patient transporters, radiologic and surgical technologists, lab technicians, nursing unit clerks and others.
