"After months of tough negotiations - and early proposals from management that were unacceptable - we have voted overwhelmingly to approve our new two‐year contract," said Linda Cornell, who serves on the SEIU-UHW bargaining team. "This contract will help keep experienced healthcare workers at Stanford, so that our patients will continue to receive the quality care they deserve."

The new two-year agreement includes:

• A 4 percent raise each year (2 percent across the board and a 2 percent step increase) plus ratification bonuses.




• Healthcare options, including fully paid Kaiser and Blue Cross PPO for employees who earn less than $26.54 per hour, and fully paid Blue Cross PPO family coverage for all employees.




• Other improvements, including three days of paid bereavement leave and gains in retiree healthcare.

Stanford employees had been working for several years without a contract, and bargaining had been stalled by management. In the last few months, however, SEIU-UHW members pulled together and their bargaining team was able to move management on several key issues. They are already turning their attention to building on this contract in 2011 and beyond.