CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Nurses at St. Francis Medical Center walked the picket line last week.
Negotiations are scheduled to resume tonight between representatives from the striking Hawaii Nurses Association and Kuakini Medical Center. Kuakini and nurses
head back to tableBy Lyn Danninger
ldanninger@starbulletin.comBoth sides met for the first time in two weeks on Monday without significant movement on remaining issues, the union said.
No new talks have been scheduled with either Queen's Medical Center, which also met with the union Monday, or St. Francis Medical Center, which has not been back to the bargaining table since the strike began more than two weeks ago.
Kuakini spokeswoman Donda Spiker said the hospital was asked during Monday's negotiations to consider some increases and changes to the best and final offer it gave two weeks ago.
Spiker said she could not comment on whether the hospital was planning to reconsider its position on any of the remaining sticking points.
"We won't know what is happening until after the next negotiations," Spiker said.
Negotiations between nurses and Queen's began Monday afternoon and broke down early yesterday morning, said Queen's spokeswoman Lynn Kenton.
Kenton said Queen's had presented a "slightly modified" proposal at that meeting.
"We proposed incremental pay increases over the three-year period," she said. "Instead of a one-time annual increase we now propose that it be implemented incrementally every six months."
Queen's offer is a 21 percent wage increase over three years. It maintains improvements in benefits and retirement, Kenton said.
But the latest proposal from Queen's keeps a paid time off program which the hospital says is designed to cut down on absenteeism, but which has been a major sticking point for nurses.
Kenton said Monday night's union proposal had asked for a further wage increase the hospital could not accept.
The hospital had offered some concession language on another major sticking point, the mandatory overtime provision in the current contract. That language was rejected by the union, Kenton said.
But a union negotiator characterized Queen's latest offer as providing "no additional proposals," saying Queen's management had "no interest in modifying their position."
"Management said basically 'take it or leave it,'" said nurse negotiator Bill Richter.
Nurses hand delivered letters yesterday to all Queen's Health System and affiliated Queen Emma Foundation board members about the negotiations.
Union spokesman Scott Foster characterized the letter as a spontaneous effort from rank and file nurses who had been observing negotiations, not from the union or its negotiating team.
"A group of them felt that if the board was fully aware of the issues they might take a more direct interest in the negotiations and what is being put forward at the table by both parties," he said. "They believe if board members knew exactly what the reality was that they would quickly jump on board to get this resolved."
While no new talks are scheduled between the nurses union and St. Francis Medical Center, the hospital's first kidney transplant since the strike began was successfully completed yesterday morning, said hospital spokeswoman Maggie Jarrett.
The hospital had earlier reached an agreement with the union to allow union nurses from the hospital transplant team to return to work if needed.
St. Francis Healthcare System
Queen's Medical Center
Kuakini Health System
