Nurses at Wahiawa General Hospital have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike after they rejected a management offer. Wahiawa nurses
OK strikeA walkout may begin as early as May 5
Associated Press
The Hawaii Nurses Association said it will issue a strike notice today if a new agreement cannot be reached. By issuing the notice, Wahiawa's 62 nurses could walk off their jobs as early as May 5.
Negotiators for union and Wahiawa General are scheduled to resume contract negotiations today with the help of a federal mediator. Talks broke down on Friday.
Nurses said the current raise offered by the hospital would be offset by the increases to rising health insurance costs.
"In order to keep nurses here at Wahiawa, we need to remain competitive with other area hospitals in pay, benefits and working conditions," nurse Randy Pisani said.
He said the hospital's offer also lacked addressing mandatory overtime, seniority and basic access to retiree medical benefits.
"The next two weeks will provide some critical tests for Wahiawa General's administration and they have a lot to prove," said Sue Scheider, the union's chief negotiator.
"Instead of the non-responsive and rather cavalier positions that management has demonstrated in bargaining so far, they had better step up and show they are deserving of the trust of the nurses, the physicians and the local community they are in business to serve," she said.
Wahiawa officials were not immediately available for comment.
In January, about 1,300 nurses at three Honolulu hospitals returned to work after strikes that lasted more than a month.
Nurses at Kuakini Medical Center, St. Francis Medical Center and The Queen's Medical Center walked off their jobs in early December.