Nurses in Watsonville, CA have returned to work without a contract.
Struggle over safe staffing issues led to a drawn out negotiation that
started in February, and nurses staged a strike last week, in an attempt
to demonstrate their seriousness about this issue and to urge progress.
The California Nurses Association started the strike at the hospital
Tuesday morning (October, 26) at about 6:30 a.m. The Watsonville
Community Hospital and its nurses were in bargaining negotiations when
the strike began. The Hospital's nurses are amongst the highest paid in
the nation, with an hourly average wage of $67.66, amounting to over
$140,000 a year. Nurses have been offered a new contract proposal that
includes a wage increase, but the nurses reply that the strike is not
about money, but about patient safety, as reflected in current
staff-to-patient ratios.
Sandra Flanagan, RN, said, "(T)he reason we're here is not about wages,
it's about staffing issues and patient safety."
Watsonville's nurses issued a statement saying that caring for patients
is getting harder to do because of corporate cost-cutting and
subsequently, fewer RNs being scheduled. They claim that the state
mandated nurse-to-patient safe staffing ratio has not been followed at
the hospital when nurses are on break, at meals, or picking up patients
from the blood lab.
In preparation for the strike, Watsonville Community Hospital contracted
with temporary replacement nurses and reduced certain services. While
the strike was expected to last as long as Friday, many nurses only
planned to be on strike for 24 hours. Many who walked off the job on
Tuesday found themselves turned away when they tried to return to work
on Wednesday. "Our patients deserve to be cared for by us, not the scabs
they have hired," said seasoned nurse Marylou Forrest encouraged the
crowd. "We will continue to fight. We will not back down."
On Thursday, Zenei Cortez, co-president of the California Nurses
Association (CNA), arrived to speak to the crowd. Cortez praised the
Watsonville nurses for maintaining their stance on patient care despite
being offered a raise. Cortez called out the hospital's owner, Community
Health Services, saying that it "chose the bottom line of profit instead
of patient care."
Other prominent figures showed up on Thursday as well, including
Councilmen Antonio Rivas and Manuel Bersamin, and Council candidates
Daniel Dodge, Eduardo Montesino, and Bill Neighbors.
Watsonville Community Hospital was reprimanded by the city code
enforcement officers on Thursday about erecting a fence and installing
portable toilets in the parking lot without permits. The hospital was
issued citations and required to remove the structures within 24 hours.
Now, the Watsonville nurses are back on the job. The hospital announced
that it "anticipates a smooth transition as its regular nursing staff
resumes their responsibility of providing patients with quality care."
It also said that services, including elective surgeries and outpatient
services, will return to normal operating levels once more.
The nurses say they want to get the hospital back to the bargaining
table in good faith. Before returning for work on Friday, nurse Gloria
Amaya said,"We wanted the hospital to know that we were serious about
negotiating. We're serious about patient care issues, not wages."