Molokai nurses vote Molokai General Hospital's seven nurses, who went on strike last year to get a pay raise, have voted to decertify the Hawaii Nurses Association because they are happy with the hospital administration.
5-2 to leave union
They maintain they are satisfied
with the hospital administrationBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.comAfter the 5-2 vote yesterday, Nursing Director Mary Bonifacio said: "We are thrilled at the results of this morning's vote because it reflects our nurses' trust in our commitment to support them in their work.
"The nurses and administrators of Molokai General share the same goal: to provide the highest-quality care for our patients while creating a supportive working environment for our staff," she said.
No one was available at the Hawaii Nurses Association to comment on the Molokai action because of mediation over contract issues between employers and nurses at Honolulu's "Big Five" hospitals. The association delivered 10-day strike notices Thursday to Queen's, Kapiolani, Kuakini and St. Francis-Liliha medical centers. Kaiser Foundation Hospital received a strike notice Wednesday.
Six of Molokai General Hospital's seven nurses walked out on May 12, 2001, in the first nurses strike in Hawaii in more than 15 years. The previous strike was at Wilcox Memorial Hospital on Kauai.
The nurses went back to work about a month later, on June 14, while the union continued bargaining with the employer.
Shawna Johnson, registered nurse at Molokai General, said she believes the decertification vote "will give us more flexibility and more opportunity to grow into managerial roles."
She said the administration "has always been very fair and responsive to nursing concerns, so we felt we would be better served without union representation."
The vote will not be official for seven days, which gives the National Labor Relations Board time to review it and the Hawaii Nurses Association time to respond.
Molokai General Hospital, part of the Queen's Health System since 1987, is a 30-bed rural health-care facility with the only emergency room and urgent-care clinic for the island's 7,000 residents and visitors.
County of Maui
