Nurses at a second Hawaii hospital are taking a vote
on whether to authorize a strike amid protracted labor contract negotiations.
The 159-member nursing staff at Wilcox Medical Center on Kauai began voting Sunday, and has until 8 p.m. Wednesday to cast a vote that could lead to a strike.
A decision by the Wilcox nurses is following a similar pending consideration by the roughly 1,900-member nursing staff at The Queen’s Medical Center’s Punchbowl and West Oahu campuses where voting began Dec. 23 and is scheduled to wrap up today.
Wilcox nurses began negotiations with Hawai‘i Pacific Health, owner of the largest medical center on Kauai, on May 6 ahead of their labor contract expiring Aug. 31.
According to the Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association representing Wilcox nurses,
Hawai‘i Pacific Health has engaged in unfair labor
practices.
Dianna Rodriguez, a Wilcox nurse for the past six years, said in a statement that nurse staffing levels at Wilcox are a challenge that hospital management has not made a good-faith effort to address in contract
negotiations.
What the nurses refer to as safe staffing ratios were a major issue in negotiations earlier this year for nurses at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women &Children on Oahu where a new three-year contract with Hawai‘i Pacific Health took effect Oct. 2 after more than a year of contentious negotiations punctuated by two strikes and an 18-day management lockout of roughly 600 unionized nurses.
Wilcox nurses said they are seeking similar support from Hawai‘i Pacific Health to reach a contract
agreement.
“We believe Hawai‘i Pacific Health should bargain in good faith over whether to extend the same support to its Wilcox Medical Center nurses to ensure Kauai residents have access to quality care,” Quyen Rockwell, a Wilcox nurse for the past
16 years, said in a statement.
HNA President Rosalee Agas-Yuu, who is a Kapi‘olani Medical Center nurse, said in a statement that this same support is needed to ensure Kauai residents have access to quality health care.
“We hope fairness will prevail because unlike those in Honolulu, patients on Kauai have fewer options when they need care,” she said. “They don’t have the luxury of choosing to go to another hospital. Our goal is to avoid disruptions in care for Kauai’s patients.”
Jen Chahanovich, president and CEO of Wilcox Medical Center, said in a statement Monday that the nonprofit hospital company has been dedicated to reaching an agreement with its nurses through good-faith efforts that so far have included 22 bargaining sessions and recent involvement of a federal mediator.
“They are a valuable part of our Wilcox team,” she said of the nurses, “and we will continue to negotiate in good faith with the Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association. We will wait for the voting results and remain focused on serving our patients and their families on Kauai.”
In July, Wilcox nurses
expressed support for Kapi‘olani and Queen’s nurses with an informational picket.
The Queen’s nurses voting on whether to authorize a strike have been working without a contract since their previous labor agreement expired June 30. The union seeks improvements to staffing levels and competitive compensation in a new three-year contract.
Linda Puu, chief nursing executive for The Queen’s Health Systems, previously told the Honolulu Star-
Advertiser that the hospital does not want a strike and remains hopeful a contract that both Queen’s and its nurses can be proud of can be reached.
