Kapiolani Medical Center nurses vote to authorize strike
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / DEC. 1
Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children nurses and supporters picket along Punahou Street on Dec. 1 after contract negotiations stalled a day earlier.
Registered nurses at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women and Children have voted by an overwhelming majority — 96% — to authorize a strike.
“Kapi’olani’s specialties of pediatric, neonatal, and obstetric nursing are immensely valuable for our community. It’s unfortunate that it has had to come to this,” Daniel Ross, Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association president said in a statment. “The nurses could not in good conscience continue to work in an environment that compromises the quality of patient care and compromises our professional ethics. Appropriate nurse-to-patient ratios are and always will be our priority.”
Union officials said in the statement that if the nurses strike, it would be to call attention to the hospital’s unfair labor practices, unsafe staffing levels, and the hospital’s inability to retain competent, experienced nurses, who are invested in the community.
The nurses and HPH management return to the bargaining table on Wednesday and Thursday. If a strike is called, the nurses will provide a 10-day notice to the hospital.
Gidget Ruscetta, chief operating officer of Kapi‘olani Medical Center, said in a separate statement, “While the Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association’s decision is disappointing, we still have meetings scheduled for Jan. 10 and 11 as we continue to work toward an agreement. We are committed to caring for our community and will always prioritize our patients, as we have for more than 100 years.
Strike authorization grants the nurse bargaining team the power to call a strike if the union and Hawaii Pacific Health management fail to resolve their differences. The union said the most important issue is enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios, which would set the maximum number of patients a registered nurse can care for at any given time.
The nurses have been working without a contract since their last three-year contract expired Nov. 30. The nurses, who are represented by the Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association, Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 50, AFL-CIO, began their negotiations with management on Sept. 13.
