Nurses to strike at two hospitals in Stanislaus County. What are the issues?
.JPG "In this photo taken in July 2024 outside Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, nurses protest staffing policies.")
Registered nurses will hold a one-day strike Thursday, Oct. 30, at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto and Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock.
About 3,100 nurses represented by California Nurses Association have been in contract talks with Tenet Healthcare Corp. for nine months. The union said there has been “little or no movement” on key issues on the bargaining table.
The scheduled strike includes nurses at the two hospitals in Stanislaus County, as well as nursing staff at Doctors Hospital Manteca and three Tenet-owned hospitals in other parts of California.
The nurses’ association originally voted to authorize a hospital strike in early September. The union gave 10 days advance notice of the labor action set for next week so the company could make alternative arrangements for patient care at affected facilities.
“It’s clear to the nurses that Tenet is prioritizing profits over patients,” Joeton Labos, a Bay Area intensive care nurse, said in a union news release. “We continue to lose experienced nurses to other area hospitals, which jeopardizes our ability to provide safe patient care.”
Doctors Medical Center and Emanuel are part of the Central Valley Doctors Health System, which issued a statement that the hospitals will provide quality patient care during the strike called by the labor union.
In the statement, the hospital owner expressed disappointment the union members decided to strike. The company has been negotiating in good faith to reach a new contract, the statement said, adding the nurses union didn’t accept Tenet’s proposal to resolve the issues through mediation.
“Rather than engage in productive mediation and negotiations, the union provided us with its intent to strike,” the statement said. “We stand ready to resume good faith negotiations at the strike’s conclusion.”
The previous labor contract with the registered nurses ended June 30. Aside from wage increases, the union news release said other issues in the negotiations include guaranteed meal and rest break coverage, better recruitment and retention of experienced nurses, teams to assist with lifting patients, and safe staffing practices.
Organized union actions also rattled Kaiser Permanente hospitals this month. About 31,000 nurses and other healthcare workers at Kaiser facilities in California, Oregon and Hawaii were on strike for five days before labor negotiations resumed Monday.
Tenet Healthcare, based in Dallas, is a diversified healthcare services company that operates medical centers, specialty hospitals and outpatient facilities. Its network includes United Surgical Partners International, which operates more than 500 ambulatory surgery centers and surgical hospitals across the country.
