Stanford Hospital reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement (CRONA) on Saturday. If the union’s members ratify it, the agreement will resolve a stalemate that has dragged on for over a year following the expiration of the nurses’ previous contract in March 2010.

Several big fights have marked the conflict between Stanford and CRONA, including a rejection of a previous agreement by the nurses in December. The union voted to authorize a strike last February after the hospital attempted to impose new contract conditions.

Key provisions of the proposed agreement include retroactive wage increases of 4 percent dating back to March 2010, as well as future wage increases of 4 percent up to April 2012 and increases of between 2 and 4 percent afterward. The length of the new contract will be three years.

“This has been a long and tumultuous process,” wrote CRONA President Lorie Johnson in a press release on Saturday. “I am very proud of how our membership stood together and refused to let the hospitals impose an unfair contract on us. The CRONA Board and Negotiating Committee will be recommending that nurses vote to accept this tentative agreement.”

CRONA’s membership will vote on the contract on Thursday.

— Kabir Sawhney