Below is an article recently posted in the local newspaper about the possible 4 days nurses strike at my hospital. Negotiations are still presently underway. We are hoping and praying for a positive outcome that will negate the need to strike, which would be an incredibly detrimental situation for the community we serve.
Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa.
Kent Porter / PD, 2012
Published: Friday, September 21, 2012 at 6:44 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, September 21, 2012 at 6:44 p.m.
The union representing 660 nurses at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital
has warned administrators that nurses may go on strike Oct. 2, two days
after their labor contract expires.
The Santa Rosa-based
Staff Nurses Association said Friday that its nurses will now vote on
whether to stage a three-day walkout. If approved, the strike will begin
at 5 a.m. on Oct. 2 and conclude at 5 a.m. on Oct. 5.
Both
hospital administrators and the nurses union said they have
disagreements over a number of labor issues, including pension benefits
and on-call and night shift pay.
In
a statement released Friday afternoon, the nurses union said hospital
administrators are proposing, among other things, a cut in night shift
pay and decrease in on-call pay. The union said the hospital is also
trying to take away the union's right to negotiate benefits.
Debra
Miller, vice president of human resources for St. Joseph Health Sonoma
County, which runs Memorial Hospital, said the proposed changes to
nurses' benefits are “not out of the realm of what other employers are
doing,” including local governments.
In
these tough economic times, she said, the hospital must take steps to
bring its costs in line with its targets to ensure its financial
stability.
Miller said the
hospital has proposed reducing the night differential, the extra amount
paid for working the night shift, from 25 to 15 percent of regular pay.
Also, the hospital proposes reducing on-call pay from 50 to 30 percent
of regular pay.
The union
said the proposed cuts come at a time when the hospital is reporting a
$38 million operating margin.
But Miller said that its
current operating margin is about 6 percent, which is about what the
hospital needs to invest in new technology and remain competitive.
“A new MRI machine can cost anywhere from $2 to $3 million,” she said.
The
nurses union has proposed improvements to extended sick leave, retiree
medical benefits (which it says are currently sub-market) and paid
time-off. The changes would bring nurses' benefits in line with other
hospitals.
In its
statement released Friday, the union said it has proposed a 5 percent
wage increase beginning Oct. 1 and 7 percent a year later. The increases
would barely keep nurses' wages competitive with the lower tier of
wages in the Bay Area, it said.
Miller
said hospital administrators will continue to negotiate with the nurses
union through next week and next weekend. The contract expires at
midnight Sept. 30.
The nurses union has filed notices of intent to strike several times just before its contract was set to expire, Miller said.
“In
2010, we received the same notice on Sept. 23,” she said. “We bargained
until Sept. 30, came to an agreement and the union rescinded the
strike.”
Miller said that
during the last six rounds of contract negotiations, the nurses union
has filed five strike notices without striking once.
in for the fiscal year ended June 30.
