Striking nurses
agree to new talks
Striking nurses at Wahiawa General Hospital are scheduled to return to the bargaining table Wednesday night in an effort to end the week-long walkout, the Hawaii Nurses Association said in a media release yesterday.
The release said the federal mediator contacted HNA Collective Bargaining Director Sue Scheider late yesterday afternoon to arrange another round of negotiations.
Scheider is in contract negotiations at Kauai's Wilcox Hospital until Wednesday and is rearranging her negotiation and travel schedules for the two sides to meet Wednesday night.
Union spokesman Scott Foster also said that 19 of the striking nurses have found jobs elsewhere. Three of the 19 have submitted their resignations to the hospital, he said.
Some of the 19 nurses are part-time workers, and it was not known if they plan on leaving Wahiawa, Foster said.
Yesterday, as a Mother's Day gift, husbands and children of the striking nurses joined the picket line as a show of support.
More than 60 nurses at the Central Oahu hospital went on strike last Monday. The last contract negotiating session was held April 30.
Hospital spokesman Richard Aea has said nurse managers are filling in for the strikers, but some services have been cut.