Sep. 3–SAN FRANCISCO — Ratcheting up pressure on Sutter Health, health care workers at eight Northern California hospitals, including three in the East Bay, say they will strike because little progress has been made in negotiating contracts over the past year.
On Friday, the Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers-West set Sept. 13 as the start date for an open-ended strike that could involve as many as 8,000 workers from seven unions. If it goes forward, the strike would rank among the largest ever by health care workers.
SEIU-UHW said 4,500 of its members, including licensed vocational nurses and hospital support staff, would strike unless progress is made at the negotiating table. In addition, the California Nurses Association, representing 3,000 registered nurses at the eight hospitals, said it would support SEIU-UHW workers by striking in sympathy.
Five other unions, including Stationary Engineers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Office & Professional Employees International Union, Unite-Here and the Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union, which represent another 500 workers, also said they would not cross the picket line.
“We are prepared to begin bargaining around the clock,” said Sal Rosselli, president of SEIU-UHW. “If not, the 4,500 caregivers from SEIU are prepared to strike on Sept. 13.”
Beginning with Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in April, SEIU-UHW contracts at the eight hospitals expired in 2004. The other hospitals where workers will strike include Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley; Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch; the two Sutter hospitals in San Francisco — St. Luke’s Hospital and California Pacific Medical Center — Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa; Sutter Lakeside Hospital and Sutter Solano Medical Center in Vallejo.
Eden Medical Center chief executive officer George Bischalaney said his hospital would begin preparing for the strike by hiring replacement workers. This is not the first time SEIU has gone on strike, he said.
The last time was in December, when workers struck for one day and then were locked out by the hospitals for another four.
“It’s disappointing for everyone,” Bischalaney said. “I’d rather be in negotiations.”
However, he said he wasn’t sure what will resolve the dispute. “I’m not sure what’s left for us to offer, what else can go to the table,” Bischalaney said.
SEIU-UHW said each of the eight hospitals refuses to accept standards that have been adopted by other large hospital systems, including Kaiser Permanente, Catholic Healthcare West and the Daughters of Charity Health system. The standards include third-party resolution for staffing disputes, a training fund for workers and upgraded retirement benefits.
However, much of the tension between the two sides arises from a push by SEIU-UHW to negotiate with parent corporation Sutter Health and not the individual hospitals. Though Sutter owns 27 hospitals in Northern California, the corporation says it is more appropriate to leave the local hospitals with control rather than create a master contract. On Friday, Sutter Health spokeswoman Karen Garner referred all questions about the strike to the individual hospitals.
An open-ended strike may not be easy for union members, especially those belonging to SEIU-UHW, because they are often lower paid staff members at hospitals.
Rosselli said an SEIU strike fund would contribute $400 a week to each member for an indefinite period of time. He said SEIU-UHW is also talking to unions that have agreed to strike in sympathy about support funds for their workers as well.
It will be hard to forego the wages she makes as a housekeeper at Eden Medical Center, said Debbie Rube, 50. But she’s been saving, and it’s important to stand up to Sutter, she said.
“I look at it like this: If Sutter is our father, don’t you treat all your children in the same way,” she asked. “At Kaiser, you can go from one facility to the next and carry your seniority. If Kaiser can do it, why not Sutter?”
The California Nurses Association said it is supporting SEIU-UHW, even though registered nurses ratified contracts at Sutter hospitals two weeks ago, because nurses are concerned about Sutter’s corporate behavior.
“Sutter has to respect all of its caregivers,” said Chuck Idelson, spokesman for the CNA.
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