St. Francis nurses More than 100 striking nurses from St. Francis Medical Center say they will begin leaving their jobs next week if the hospital does not return to the negotiating table and bargain in good faith.
issue ultimatum
Many strikers will quit for good
unless the hospital resumes talksBy Lyn Danninger
ldanninger@starbulletin.comAbout 340 registered nurses from St. Francis have been on strike since Dec. 2.
At a news conference this morning, union negotiators said the nurses don't believe the hospital is serious about returning to the bargaining table. The meeting was attended by about 40 striking St. Francis nurses.
"We are basically fed up," said Vince Noren, a nurse negotiator who works in St. Francis' Critical Care Unit.
"If the hospital doesn't return to the table there will be over 100 seasoned registered nurses that are going to be leaving to find work at other hospitals," he said.
Noren said a union survey of the nurses determined that more than 100 were ready to quit their jobs.
St. Francis management declined comment on the press conference.
A number of experienced nurses already have left their jobs in areas such as dialysis and organ transplant on Oahu and in the neighbor islands dialysis services, said union negotiator Claudine Tomasa.
"I don't feel that I really have a choice," said Brian Peroff, a 10-year nurse at St. Francis who said he will fill out job applications with Kuakini Medical Center, which has already settled its contract with the nurses, and Queen's Hospital, if striking nurses there ratify a new contract on Thursday.
Sue Scheider, director of collective bargaining for Hawaii Nurses Association, said if the nurses leave, the hospital would have a difficult time replacing them given the salaries they are prepared to pay.
"In this competitive environment, it would be impossible for St. Francis to recruit," she said.
St. Francis Healthcare System
Queen's Medical Center
Kuakini Health System