RNs win strong measures to improve patient safety and nurse retention

Registered nurses at Adventist Health Lodi Memorial (AHLM) in Lodi, California, voted to ratify a four-year contract on June 4, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU). AHLM registered nurses are celebrating their victory on key demands related to patient safety and nurse retention.

This is the first-ever union contract at AHLM, capping a campaign that began during the Covid-19 pandemic, including an election vote in March 2023 and an informational picket in October 2024.

“This has been a wild journey,” said Allison Silva, RN in the emergency department. “Who would have thought, when we started the whispers of a union almost four years ago, that we would make it here? I am very proud of what we have accomplished in this contract. Nurses organized to demand that Lodi stop putting profits over the lives and safety of our patients and the community, and this contract is an important step toward that goal.”

Highlights of the AHLM nurses’ first union contract include:

• New workplace violence protections, including the ability for nurses to request a different patient assignment if they feel their physical safety is at risk;
• Establishment of a Professional Practice Committee, a staff RN-controlled committees with the authority to document unsafe practices and the power to make real changes;
• Competitive wage increases and improved benefits to retain and recruit nurses;
• Establishment of a grievance procedure, which provides a formal route for nurses to resolve issues with management with the support of their union representatives; and
• New health and safety protections to protect nurses, patients, and the community, including guaranteed personal protective equipment to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

The new contract covers the period from June 4, 2025 to June 3, 2029. CNA represents more than 400 nurses at Adventist Health Lodi Memorial.