Unionized nurses at Kaiser Permanente have overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year labor agreement.

With the ratification, the nurses join the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, a group that has a master labor agreement covering all Mainland Kaiser facilities.

"We applaud this historic moment and look forward to sharing in the privileges and obligations of the labor management partnership," said Patt Gibbs, executive director of the Hawaii Nurses Association. The HNA represents about 800 registered nurses at Kaiser Permanente.

The three-year agreement, ratified on Friday, is retroactive to December 1, 2008. It will expire November 30, 2011.