Wilcox nurses begin 3-day strike on Kauai

COURTESY HAWAI‘I NURSES’ ASSOCIATION
Nurses began a three-day strike at Wilcox Medical Center on Kauai this morning.

COURTESY HAWAII WORKERS CENTER
Community members and the nonprofit Hawaii Workers Center delivered a letter to Queen’s last week urging the hospital to negotiate in good faith and to avert a nurses’ strike. The Queen’s Medical Center and its nurses have reached a tentative agreement, averting a strike that was set to begin at 7 a.m. Monday.


UPDATE: 9:30 a.m.
The president of the Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association, Rosalee Agas-Yuu, issued a statement regarding the Wilcox nurses’ strike:
“The patients of Kaua‘i deserve the same standard of care as those on O‘ahu. The nurses want to end this double standard.
“Under management’s proposals, the Wilcox nurses in the hospital’s main Medical-Surgical Department would continue to take care of six patients at a time. This gives only 10 minutes per hour for each patient. This unsafe staffing compromises the quality of care for patients. By contrast, Kapi‘olani nurses take care of four or five patients at a time, which gives 12 to 15 minutes per patient. The extra two to five minutes per patient could save lives. This is what the nurses are fighting for and why they are willing to go on strike. Wilcox Medical Center patients deserve the best care and the nurses have offered to continue negotiating throughout the three-day strike.”
8 a.m.
Unionized nurses at Wilcox Medical Center on Kauai launched a three-day strike this morning after negotiations with hospital management failed to yield a new contract. The strike began at 7 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 6:59 a.m. Friday.
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Represented by the Hawaii Nurses’ Association, the 159-member nursing staff is protesting what they describe as unfair labor practices and inadequate staffing levels.
In response, the president and CEO of Wilcox Medical Center, Jen Chahanovich, released the following statement this morning:
“The union’s decision to strike is very disappointing. Wilcox Medical Center remains open, and we will continue to provide high-quality care for our patients and the people of Kaua‘i — it’s our responsibility and commitment to our community. We are fully staffed with a temporary workforce of experienced nurses.
“While we were not able to reach an agreement, negotiations continued with a federal mediator well into the night. We are still willing to negotiate in person every day for as long as it takes. We care for our nurses and value the role they serve on our team at Wilcox.”
TUESDAY 12:50 a.m.
Unionized nurses at Wilcox Medical Center on Kauai plan to hit the picket line today for a three-day strike after negotiations with management ended Monday night with no agreement on a new contract.
The strike is scheduled to begin today at 7 a.m. and last until Friday at 6:59 a.m., the Hawaii Nurses’ Association said.
Kauai nurses, represented by HNA, were disappointed that the hospital has refused to staff their medical/surgical units at the same rates as their facilities on Oahu, according to the union.
Early Monday, the Queen’s Medical Center and HNA reached a tentative deal on a new three-year collective bargaining contract, averting a strike that was set to begin Monday morning. The tentative agreement still must be approved by the union membership.
The Wilcox nurses believe Kauai residents deserve the same standard of care as those on Oahu, HNA officials said.
MONDAY 7:15 a.m.
The Queen’s Medical Center and the Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year collective bargaining contract, averting a strike that was set to begin this morning.
“Together with HNA, we worked respectfully and diligently towards reaching an agreement that both The Queen’s Medical Center and our nurses can be proud of and support,” said Linda Puu, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive at Queen’s in a statement. “I believe this agreement demonstrates the benefits of our working partnership with HNA and what we can achieve when we commit to the shared goal of advancing nursing practice and promoting quality patient care.”
In her remarks, Puu extended gratitude to Queen’s nurses for their dedication and contributions, stating, “We went into these negotiations with a focus on crafting a contract that shows how much we care and includes tangible, meaningful support for the nurses at the heart of our care team.”
Among the terms of the contract are a nearly 17% wage increase over the three-year period.
HNA says the agreement is expected to lead to improved staffing ratios tailored to the specific needs of units; enhanced recruitment and retention initiatives to ensure sustainable staffing levels; and a renewed focus on employee well-being and registered nurse workload support.
“After nine months of bargaining and four days of intense mediation with the employer, we finally have a tentative agreement that prioritizes patient safety and staff well-being,” said Rosalee Agas-Yuu, HNA president, in a news release. “This tentative agreement shows the solidarity within the nursing community at Queen’s and our shared dedication to putting patients first.”
The agreement on the new, three-year contract must now be ratified by HNA’s members, to be held Wednesday.
“After nine months of bargaining and four days of intense mediation with the employer, we finally have a tentative agreement that prioritizes patient safety and staff well-being,” said Rosalee Agas-Yuu, HNA president, in a news release. “This tentative agreement shows the solidarity within the nursing community at Queen’s and our shared dedication to putting patients first.”
The agreement on the new, three-year contract must now be ratified by HNA’s members, to be held Wednesday.
6:20 a.m.
The Queen’s Medical Center and its nurses have reached a tentative agreement, averting a strike that was set to begin at 7 a.m. today, according to a statement from the Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association.
Negotiators finalized the agreement at about 1 a.m., just hours before the planned walkout. The agreement now moves to a ratification vote by the nurses.
Details of the agreement were not immediately available, however, a union spokesperson said more information will be shared later today.
The planned strike had escalated after earlier negotiation deadlines passed without resolution. Nurses at Queen’s had cited concerns over staffing, patient safety and working conditions during the contract dispute.
Nathan Hokama, a spokesperson for the nurses, shared the news in an early-morning email.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
Labor negotiations between nurses of The Queen’s Medical Center’s downtown and West Oahu campuses and the hospital’s management continued today, the fourth straight day of talks leading up to a planned three-day strike over unfair labor practices.
“The Queen’s nurses have been participating in 12-hour negotiation sessions and working hard to reach an agreement,” Hawai’i Nurses’ Association President Rosalee Agas-Yuu said in a statement. “We are all hoping to avert a strike.
The 1,900 nurses at Queen’s have been working without a contract since June 30, and have been in negotiations for a new one since mid-April.
The strike was originally scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Monday, but both HNA and Queen’s management subsequently agreed to a start time of 7 a.m.
If there is a strike, it would continue through Thursday at 6:59 a.m.
Queen’s Chief Nursing Executive Linda Puu said hospital management regrets the uncertainty this situation creates for the community.
“Queen’s serves the sickest and most vulnerable patients in Hawai’i,” she said in a statement. “We take this responsibility seriously and find it disheartening that our nurses are being led down a path that could negatively impact them, their families, this prestigious institution, our patients, and the mission of our Founders, King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma.
“Our top priority remains to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of quality, safe patient care. As is standard practice, we have contracted with staffing agencies to provide a sufficient number of licensed, and experienced temporary replacement nurses should a strike take place.”
On Tuesday, the 159-member nursing staff at Wilcox Medical Center on Kauai is planning its own three-day strike to protest unfair labor practices. Wilcox, which is the largest medical center on Kauai and is part of Hawai‘i Pacific Health, notified Wilcox that the strike will begin at 7 a.m. and end at 6:59 a.m. on Friday.
Over the New Year’s holiday, union nurses at both Queen’s and Wilcox voted to authorize strikes protesting unfair labor practices.
Last fall some 600 HNA nurses at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children were locked out by management for 18 days after a one-day strike, which followed an earlier weeklong walkout in January. The lockout continued until Oct. 2 when a new three-year contract was reached that HNA said included the first contractually enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios in Hawaii history.