Within the last two months, registered nurses in the Bay Area have organized large two-day strikes.
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On Oct. 10 and 11, the California Nurses Association organized a strike during union negotiations with Sutter Health Hospitals in defense of patient services. Despite the fact that the corporate giant reported almost $600 million in profits last year, it has proposed changes that would increase its nurses’ costs in healthcare premiums, deductibles and co-payments for office visits, emergency care, prescription drugs and medical procedures.
In addition, Sutter has made wide-ranging cutbacks that CNA argues have violated safe staffing ratios and practices, such as not covering staff lunch breaks.
Over 5,000 nurses in the Bay Area participated in this first strike.
On Dec. 13 and 14 the CNA, the National Nurses Organizing Committee and the Healthcare Employees Union organized another two-day strike. They organized picket lines and rallies at 13 different Sutter facilities. Pickets lasted 12 hours each day.
The RNs are protesting Sutter’s health assessment questionnaire program that would allow Sutter to send sensitive details to its health insurance providers without the nurses’ consent, allowing punitive cost measures to be taken by the health insurance companies according to the information from the questionnaire. They also oppose Sutter’s plans to close St. Luke’s hospital in San Francisco, San Leandro Hospital and Sutter Santa Rosa.
Sutter responded by locking out the RNs in most of its hospitals.
Members of the San Francisco Labor Council, the California Labor Federation and the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) attended the 300-strong pro-nurse rally at the California Pacific Medical Center and the picket at St. Luke’s Hospital.
The RNs remain locked out. Sutter continues to waste millions of dollars on replacement nurses and staff that should be spent on patient care.
