Update: Thousands of Nurses Participate in One-Day Strike

By Bay City News Service

1:13 p.m. update: Tens of thousands of Northern and Central California nurses are striking today to protest hospitals' proposed labor concessions and other grievances that they say are unnecessary and unwarranted.

As picketing RNs in the Bay Area held rallies and marches, hospital officials said their facilities are still functional with the aid of replacement nurses and those who have crossed the picket lines in the 24-hour strike.

Nurses are striking at the region's two largest hospital chains, Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health, and at Children's Hospital in Oakland, among other hospitals.

Many of the estimated 23,000 workers striking today -- including those in the Sutter system -- are in the middle of contract negotiations, while Kaiser nurses walked off the job today in a sympathy strike, according to a California Nurses Association statement.

"The picket lines are huge," CNA spokesman Charles Idelson said this morning, as thousands of nurses geared up for a march and rally at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley and a 2 p.m. rally at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame.

Idelson said the RNs who are picketing today are protesting hospitals' proposed cuts to health care and retiree coverage for themselves and other hospital workers, plus restrictions on their ability to advocate for patients.

Yet Bay Area hospital officials said this morning that there has been no major impact on operations.

Dr. Steve O'Brien, Alta Bates' vice president of medical affairs, said that both the Oakland and Berkeley campuses are operating just as well, if not better, than usual.

"Things are running very smoothly, we're very well-staffed," he said, noting that the replacement nurses helping to fill striking workers' shoes today are all experienced RNs, many of whom have worked at the local Sutter hospitals before.

A number of the Sutter-affiliated hospitals' nurses also crossed the picket lines today, he said.

Erin Goldsmith, a spokeswoman for Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, said that while about 700 of the hospital's nurses are California Nurses Association members, about 125 of them crossed the picket line today.

Elective surgeries at the hospital have been postponed today, but emergency services are fully functional, she said.

Idelson said hospitals' "long list of demands" under current contract negotiations include an attempt to roll back hard-won RN rights and to limit nurses' input regarding patient care, in addition to cutting benefits.

O'Brien said he is puzzled by today's strike and said that Sutter's nurses are "among the highest-compensated in the country," with the average nurse there earning $136,000 yearly.

He said Sutter nurses who want a "Cadillac (health care) plan" are being asked for the first time to contribute $14 per pay period, but that other benefits would still be fully employer-funded.

"We're going to welcome them back when they come back -- this is a temporary thing," he said.

8:13 a.m. (original story posting): Some 23,000 registered nurses throughout much of the state are expected to rally during a one-day strike Thursday in a bid for RN rights.

California Nurses Association officials said nurses would hold a walkout at 34 Northern and Central California hospitals to protest a range of issues, including restrictions on nurses' rights to speak out for patients and cuts in nurses' and other hospital workers' health care and retiree coverage. The strike will affect the Bay Area's biggest hospital chains, Sutter and Kaiser, plus Children's Hospital Oakland.

Picketing is slated to begin at 7 a.m. Thursday and will continue throughout the day, with the largest turnout expected at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland and Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame. Speaking on behalf of many striking nurses in a statement, Children's Hospital RN Martha Kuhl said these hospitals "are taking advantage of the economic times and trying to roll back improvements we have won over many years."

Meanwhile, Children's Hospital officials called the strike "irresponsible and misguided" and pledged to keep the hospital open during the planned walkout by contracting with replacement nurses.

Many of the RNs set to take part in the strike are in the midst of ongoing contract negotiations with their employers, hospital officials said. "The CNA leadership is out-of-touch with changes occurring throughout the country related to wages and healthcare benefits, and out of touch with the fact that Children's (Hospital) is financially strained," said Nancy Shibata, the hospital's chief nursing officer, in a statement. For a full list of the 34 hospitals where nurses plan to strike, head to http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/pages/860/.

Your well-being is our top priority


Our Kaiser Permanente medical centers and medical offices in Northern California are open during 9/22 work stoppage

You may have heard that the leadership of the California Nurses Association (CNA) has announced that they will conduct a one-day work stoppage to coincide with a strike by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), which represents optical workers and behavioral health employees at our medical centers in Northern California. The strike will begin at 7 a.m. Thursday, September 22, and end at 7 a.m. Friday, September 23, 2011.

As always, our first priority is the safety and care of our members and patients. We’ve taken steps to make sure you will continue to receive high-quality care from a team of experienced doctors and other clinicians. Kaiser Permanente medical centers and medical offices will remain open during the work stoppage, including our hospitals, Emergency Departments, Urgent Care Departments, primary and specialty care departments, pharmacies, and laboratories.

And, remember, you can always email your doctor with routine health questions.

At Kaiser Permanente, we have a long and proud history of working with organized labor. We are and will continue to talk with each of the unions that represent our employees about how to ensure that KP is able to deliver on its mission to provide high quality, affordable health care over the long term.

We are in contract negotiations with NUHW. We continue to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement soon. While we recognize the NUHW’s legal right to conduct a strike, we believe the bargaining process is the best way to resolve our differences. Kaiser Permanente is not in contract negotiations with CNA, which has a contract through 2014.

For more information, visit kp.org.