09/06/2012; Jackie Tortora 
In a major win for nurses, patients and three Texas communities, registered nurses (RNs) in El Paso, Corpus Christi and Brownsville gave final approval to contracts yesterday in first-ever collective bargaining agreements, reports National Nurses United (NNU).
The agreements improve working conditions for RNs, patient care standards and the quality of care at the four facilities. The contracts cover RNs at Corpus Christi Medical Center, two El Paso facilities (Las Palmas Medical Center and Del Sol Medical Center) and at the Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville. All are members of the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC)-Texas/NNU.
Ratifications of the contracts were completed last night. Nurses involved say these agreements will provide important improvements in patient care protections and enhanced professional and economic standards that will help keep experienced RNs doing what they do best: caring for patients.
Fred Flores, RN, of Corpus Christi Medical Center’s Emergency Department, says:
Texas took a big step forward in terms of patient care standards with these agreements.
Nashville-based Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) is the largest operator of for-profit hospitals in the United States and, with these agreements, now has nurses at 19 affiliated hospitals covered by a collective bargaining agreement with NNU: 10 in Florida, two in California, as well as one each in Nevada, Missouri and Kansas.
Read more about the NNOC-Texas.
American Federation of Government Employees Local 704 