KAISER NURSES: Stage One-Day Strike
"Kaiser Permanente nurses plan to stage another one-day strike today against 54 Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics in Northern California as talks between the sides continued fruitlessly," the Contra Costa Times reports. Kay McVay, a negotiator for the California Nurses Association, said the union "is fighting proposed Kaiser take-backs and reductions in pay, health care and retirement benefits." However, Kaiser spokesperson Tom Debley maintained Kaiser's "proposals reflect the economic reality of compensation for nurses in the region," as Kaiser already pays "its nurses more than the market level for Northern California."
Old Hat
The Times reports Kaiser facilities "would cope with today's walkout as they did a two-day strike on Jan. 29 and 30, and three others last year, taking steps such as postponing elective surgery and putting managers to work in the wards" (Spears, 2/24). The Fresno Bee reports that this is the fourth strike by Kaiser nurses "in less than a year" (2/24).