Cedars-Sinai healthcare workers ratify contract with big pay raises

After seven months of negotiations, nearly 600 workers at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center have ratified a four-year contract that will boost wages by an average 40% over four years, add bonuses and provide a path for part-time employees to gain full-time status.

The 245-bed hospital has experienced heavy worker turnover in recent years in part because wages were 22% below what nearby unionized hospitals were paying, according to data collected by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents the employees.

Their previous labor contract expired Oct. 1, 2022.

Of the nearly 600 healthcare workers who authorized a picket at the hospital in December, 28% have worked there for less than a year, NUHW officials said.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the hospital thanked both bargaining teams for finding common ground on the issues.

“Like hospitals nationwide, Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana is recovering from the economic impacts of the pandemic, which include a challenging labor market,” the hospital said. “We are happy the union accepted our offer as we believe it was fair to the hospital and to our caregivers.”

The employees — including licensed vocational nurses, nursing assistants, housekeepers, medical technicians and respiratory therapists — will receive market wages under the new contract, the union said, making it easier for Cedars to recruit and retain workers.

The agreement includes cost of living raises and higher salary steps; a $1,500 ratification bonus for full-time workers and $750 for part-time staff; and recognition of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Erika Olden, a heart ultrasound technician who has worked at Cedars for nearly 30 years, said the new labor agreement was sorely needed.

“We have been very short-staffed throughout the COVID pandemic,” the 53-year-old Studio City resident said. “We’ve been scrambling and are amazingly stressed because there’s barely been time to reach all of our patients. And people aren’t getting paid enough, so they move on.”

Olden said the new agreement should help correct those problems. “This is the best contract we’ve achieved so far,” she said.