With 400 of 420 unionized nurses at Straub Medical Center in Honolulu casting votes last Friday, 96% rejected a “best-and-final” contract offer from Straub. The union gave notice that it may stage informational picketing on Nov. 22, as nurses aren’t satisfied with the pay offered, among other issues.

Meanwhile, at Kaiser Permanente facilities here, an open-ended strike continues for psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses and chemical dependency counselors. It began on Aug. 29, protesting understaffing and Kaiser’s call to freeze wages and eliminate pensions for new hires.