Two-Week St. John’s Nurses Strike Ends Without Settlement
A two-week nurses' strike at St. John's hospitals in Oxnard and Camarillo ended Dec. 28 with no settlement, the Ventura County Star reports. Hospital administrators have offered an "across-the-board" salary increase totaling $1.4 million, but the nurses have said that they "want a contract first, which would include giving them a say in staffing" (Jennings, Ventura County Star, 12/29). Charles Padilla, COO for both facilities, said hospital administrators were willing to discuss staffing, but would not discuss "specific ratios." He called the strike "fruitless," saying that the union failed to accomplish much beyond driving up costs at both hospitals, and suggested it was an attempt by the Service Employees International Union to increase membership (Kelly, Los Angeles Times, 12/28). Nurses disagreed with Padilla's assessment, saying that perceptions of walk-outs have changed. St. John's nurse Stephanie Lara-Jenkins said, "We've gotten support from our doctors and other co-workers who are not nurses and (we) changed their thinking." Gayle Pollock added that nurses had not expected administrators to "cave in," but hoped the strike would lead administrators to "be more respectful and willing to go to the negotiating table." Negotiations between administrators and nurses are scheduled to resume on Jan. 4 and 5, and nurses have not ruled out future strikes (Jennings, Ventura County Star, 12/30).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.