[CNA] – Registered nurses at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia have reached a tentative agreement with hospital officials on a new three-year collective bargaining pact that ends a months-long dispute, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United announced Friday.

Henry Mayo RNs will hold membership meetings September 16 and 17 to vote on the proposed contract. CNA represents 650 RNs at the hospital in Northern Los Angeles County.

Over the past year, the RNs have held a number of vigils and other protests to highlight concerns, especially over a hospital demand that the RNs surrender their right to report violations of employee rights, covered by federal and state laws, to appropriate public agencies.

In talks that ended last night, nurse negotiators won agreement from the hospital that RNs can be protected in their patient advocacy rights by opting out of the demand and continue to have full legal rights.

“Our nurses were united and strong for months in our dedication to protecting our patients and our profession,” said Henry Mayo RN Sandra Dorso, who is also a nurse negotiator. “We’re pleased to win an agreement that defends our rights, and will also promote retention of experienced nurses for our community.”

“This agreement has provided the nurses with protection and remedies to continue to fight for our patients rights as well as for ourselves,” said Henry Mayo RN Susan Salkeld.

In other provisions, the hospital agreed to end a practice of having RNs double up or “buddy” during meal and rest breaks – assigning another RN to cover for the nurse on break in addition to their own patient assignment putting patients at risk– which violates state law on minimum staffing protections at all times.

The RNs will earn pay increases of up to 24 percent over the 3.4 years of the agreement, retroactive to January when the prior contract expired.