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About 3,000 unionized registered nurses at multiple facilities operated by Tenet Healthcare Corporation agreed to a new contract on Friday, nearly a year after their old one expired.
Nurses represented by the California Nurses Association were holding out for wage increases, changes in staffing and training, and guarantees of maintaining health insurance benefits, according to a statement from the Nurses Association.
Members at facilities in San Ramon, Manteca, Modesto and three in Southern California had been working without a contract since the end of June 2025. The new contract is for 3 years, retroactive to July 1, 2025, according to the union.
Nurses held a 1-day strike in October as negotiations dragged on.
The new contract includes pay increases of between 11%-18% over the life of the contract and new standards around training new nurses, as well as dedicating a “rapid response nurse” to each Tenet facility. It also maintains health benefits, according to the California Nurses Association.
A rapid response nurse, or RRN, is a specialized nurse who can respond to critical life-threatening emergencies such as a patient with rapidly deteriorating vitals that needs urgent intervention, according to the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, a trade group.
“We believe this agreement is good for employees and our hospital. We appreciate the dedication and professionalism all our caregivers demonstrate every day in providing quality, compassionate care to our patients,” a Tenet representative told the Weekly in an email.
The union said 93% of members voted in favor of ratifying the contract, including nurses at San Ramon Regional Medical Center and Doctors Hospital of Manteca.
Editor’s note: Embarcadero Media Foundation Editorial Director Jeremy Walsh contributed to this report.
