About 500 registered nurses at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez have canceled a three-day strike after reporting significant progress at the bargaining table.

The strikes were scheduled to begin March 21 would have included county health clinics and jails.

“Registered nurses from Contra Costa Regional Medical Center have withdrawn their notice to strike the facility. The facility's RNs decided to do this as a result of significant progress at the bargaining table, specifically the withdrawal by County officials of their proposals for cutbacks on nurse retirement and health care benefits,” the nurses said in a prepared statement, according to Bizjournals.com.

The California Nurses Association / National Nurses Organizing Committee represent the 500 county nurses.

According to the County health officials, the strike would have cost the safety net hospital and clinics between $1 million and $1.5 million in expenses to cover such as replacement workers, plus loss of revenues.

John Cullen, who is the Contra Costa County administrator, said the union and the county would continue to discuss issues related to patient care, such as ratios, training and work conditions, as well as compensation and how contain costs to provide health care to the nurses and retirees. The next bargaining session is scheduled for March 17.

Nurses still plan to wage a 10-day strike against 10 hospitals affiliated with Sutter Health beginning March 21.

Hospitals involved in that strike include Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland and Berkeley, Eden in Castro Valley, San Leandro Hospital, Sutter Delta in Antioch, Mills-Peninsula in Burlingame and San Mateo, and Sutter Solano in Vallejo.