“Open-ended” strike by members of a coalition of nurses’ unions began at 7am today at more than two dozen hospitals and hundreds of clinics, including San Jose, in California and Hawaii citing unfair labor practices, staffing shortages and salary disputes.
Kaiser Permanente responded to the strike threat by proposing a solution to move forward with contract negotiations, which if successful, could avert a strike. The strike could impact care at 20 hospitals and 200 clinics.
Almost half a year into the dispute, eight striking Kaiser mental health workers wrapped up a hunger strike as broken-off negotiations were set to resume.
The union and the transit agency have not resumed negotiations on a new contract. The former contract expired March 10 without a contract agreement, prompting workers to strike.
The court decision Monday wasn’t the only rejection that hit the transit agency. Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected a request from the VTA to intervene in the labor dispute and asked the two sides to resume negotiations on a three-year contract.
Representatives from both sides met Monday, but neither side budged from bargaining positions for a new three-year contract that remained far apart, with no new conversations scheduled.
The growing strike may complicate matters for the more than 169,000 undergraduate students at six campuses as they wrap up instruction and take final exams.
Nurses will receive a 15% raise over four years, including a total 6.5% raise in 2024, if the Board of Supervisors approves the tentative agreement on June 4.
The nurses' union says county management failed to bargain in good faith around working conditions and safety issues that impact nurses and patient care.
The Registered Nurses Professional Association said 97% of its members – whose contract expired Oct. 29 – voted to authorize a strike if no agreement is reached on union demands for better working conditions, pay raises and improved benefits.
