Nurses Plan June 27 Strike at 10 CHW Hospitals in Northern California
Nearly 3,500 registered nurses at 10 Catholic Healthcare West hospitals in Northern California have agreed to hold a one-day strike on June 27 if contract negotiations remain deadlocked, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Nurses say that negotiations have stalled over issues including salary increases, better retirement benefits and greater control over staffing levels. Joe Lindsay, chief negotiator for the California Nurses Association, which represents the nurses, said that the union gave CHW two weeks' notice "in hopes of settling." Federal law requires nurses to give hospitals at least 10-days' notice before going on strike (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 6/14). Hospitals that would be affected by the strike include Mercy General, Mercy San Juan, Mercy Folsom, Methodist Hospital and Woodland Healthcare in Sacramento, and St. Mary's Medical Center, St. Francis Memorial Hospital, Dominican Santa Cruz Hospital, Saint Louise Regional Hospital and Seton Medical Center in the Bay area (Rapaport,
Sacramento Bee, 6/14). With the two sides "far apart" on many issues, CHW is already preparing for a strike, according to Wade Rose, vice president of policy and planning for the Bay area CHW hospitals. Rose said, "Every time there's a contract negotiation, a strike comes along with it. We are very experienced [at] ... dealing with strikes and making sure patient care is not affected." CHW is contracting with staffing firms to provide temporary nurses (San Francisco Chronicle, 6/14).