Nurses at three East Bay hospitals authorized a strike amid contract disputes over retirement benefits and staffing levels.
Tentatively scheduled for July 17, a walkout would pull about 2,100 nurses out of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley and Oakland, Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley and Sutter Solano Medical Center in Vallejo. It could block elective surgeries, stall non-emergency assistance to patients, and even send patients to other hospitals. But both sides said Wednesday they hope to avert a strike.
"We prefer to resolve our differences at the negotiating table," said Charles Idelson, a spokesman for the California Nurses Association.
Ninety-five percent of nurses at Alta Bates Summit voted to approve a strike Tuesday, followed on Wednesday by 92 percent at Eden and 100 percent at Sutter Solano. Connie Arburua, a nurse at Alta Bates Summit and member of the association's negotiating team, said the tallies added momentum to negotiations with her hospital. "There's been movement," she said of a meeting Wednesday.
The nurses are clamoring for traditional pension plans. Unlike 401(k) and 403(b) plans, traditional pensions pay a particular amount during retirement, regardless of the performance of the stock market. The nurses also want health care plans to cover medical expenses if they retire before age 65. Some are also pushing for better nurse-to-patient ratios.
The demands come as the state faces a severe nursing shortage, one association members say is driven by tough working conditions caused, in turn, by medical cost cutting. After threatening a strike, University of California nurses in June won pay raises of up to 38 percent. "Nurses have a little more ability to get some increases," said Pat Strickland , an oncology nurse at Alta Bates Summit.
Hospital officials in the East Bay said they were working to reach a deal with the nurses. "We certainly hope we will reach agreement and are making every effort to do that," said Alta Bates Summit spokeswoman Jill Gruen. Gruen said Alta Bates Summit has offered the nurses a traditional pension, although not the exact one they are seeking, and pledged to come into compliance with forthcoming state guidelines on nurse-to-patient ratios.
Nurses at Eden and Sutter Solano are reopening existing contracts, while those at Alta Bates Summit are negotiating a new contract. All three hospitals are operated by Sutter Health. Nurses also voted to strike at Sutter Health's St. Luke's Hospital in San Francisco.
Ryan Tate is a general assignment business reporter. Reach him at rtate@cctimes.com.
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