Nursing Strike

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Specializes in Tele Step Down, Oncology, ICU, Med/Surg.

Curious about what my peers think about the nursing strikes in California and the recent pt death.

I am a striking nurse who was locked out of my hospital. I went on strike to keep nursing a career that attracts and keeps the best people. We are trained professionals who love our patients and love being nurses, but the corporate bosses were to treating us like worthless chattel. They presented a long list of takeaways and were unwilling to negotiate over any of it. It is a sad day when nonprofit hospitals start acting like for profit corporations who constantly threaten layoffs and takeaway benefits from nurses and patients while giving themselves fat raises. It felt powerful to unify and take a stand.

However, I am now seriously questioning my right to strike and if indeed I have placed my pts in danger. Oncology is too intense of a practice to view nurses as interchangable commodities. While a mistake could have been made by anyone at any time the reality is less mistakes are likely when nursing is practiced by a consistent team of experienced RN's. My heart goes out to the family of the pt as well as to the traveling RN who made the med error and I am just heartsick over it all.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I do agree with unions for the betterment of working conditions, employee benefits, and so forth. While I was born and raised in CA, I have always worked as a nurse in another state. Although I work two jobs and earn good income, I have no health insurance or other benefits. My shifts can be cancelled at any time due to low patient census. Other states do not have any legally mandated nurse/patient ratios, so I have had up to 13 patients by myself. I really wish there were healthcare worker unions in the region where I live.

On the other hand, nurses in other states might be rolling their eyes at the striking nurses. There are nurses with BSN degrees and 30+ years of experience in the Midwest and South who are earning less than $30 hourly and must pay nearly $1,000 monthly for health insurance for the entire family. These same nurses tend to be against unions and do not understand why the CA nurses would be upset over what they have.

I extend my condolences to the family of the deceased patient. However, I also feel that hospital administration is too quick to throw the replacement nurse under the bus before a full investigation has been conducted.

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery.

I am also one of the nurses on strike who was locked out for 5 days. I blame the lockout- not the strike for this patient's death. The hospital wanted to punish us for striking for one day. Instead of putting patients first, they locked us out for 5 to punitively strike at our paychecks.

I still believe that the strike was necessary. I still believe that the reasons for striking were valid. I am terribly sorry for the person who lost their life and for their family, but I know that it was NOT my fault. It was not YOUR fault either. We all know as nurses that medication error is possible. We all triple and quadruple check ourselves, our meds, and our orders before giving any med. This nurse made a terrible mistake. A terrible mistake. She and the hospital are responsible for this death. Not the striking nurses.

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The 66 yearold woman had a enteral feed hooked up to an iv line. I believe we have to stand together on patient safety, because Sutter believes they can replace you with anybody. And that's what they did...

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
The 66 yearold woman had a enteral feed hooked up to an iv line.
Allegedly, the formula was Glucerna. I am not passing judgment or jumping to conclusions since the investigation seems to still be ongoing, but any experienced nurse should know that you are only to give Glucerna orally or enterally.
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I understand how you might feel the strike -- and you by extention -- was responsible but I agree with the writer who pointed out it was the lock-out, not the strike, that caused this. That and Sutter's decision to bring in travelers willing to cross picket lines. Yes, California RNs are blessed to have mandated RN:patient ratios. That should be true for the rest of the country but isn't. But just because you have that, it doesn't make it right for Sutter to take away your benefits. Nurses across this country need to be willing to unionize, go out on strike, and not cross picket lines. That's the ONLY way we can achieve safety for our patients and decent working conditions and benefits for ourselves. Since when is it okay to just cave and let Sutter's CEO make millions while nurses have to give up health benefits?! Unions made the middle class in this country and if we don't support them, we'll be the chattel the hospitals want us to be. I'm so sorry about the patient's death but it is on Sutter's head, not yours and your co-workers'.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/ Tele/ DOU.

There should be a little give and take with the negotiations, because it doesn't seem to me that the current pay rates for RN's in the bay area is sustainable. Im in the greater Los Angeles area and make 34$ straight pay, and the cost of living is just as expensive.

I can't imagine a RN making that mistake, and could've been avoided if the lockout was lifted. Seriously? The assertion by management that this could've happened at anytime is ludicrous.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

The market is in the favor of the employers right now. There are lots of nurses willing and able to take the jobs the nurses that strike don't want.

It isn't about right or wrong it is about supply and demand.

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There have always been people willing to cross picket lines, but that doesn't mean you don't unionize and try! I can't believe how workers in this country have just given up and accept crumbs while the big corporate players just get richer and richer. Anybody who has studied history knows that the ultimate conclusion of that downward spiral is a revolution. Maybe the legal (and therefore monetary) liability that Sutter has incurred from this will make management at Sutter think about something besides fattening their own personal wallets.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
There have always been people willing to cross picket lines, but that doesn't mean you don't unionize and try! I can't believe how workers in this country have just given up and accept crumbs while the big corporate players just get richer and richer. Anybody who has studied history knows that the ultimate conclusion of that downward spiral is a revolution. Maybe the legal (and therefore monetary) liability that Sutter has incurred from this will make management at Sutter think about something besides fattening their own personal wallets.

Maybe, I am history deficient after 27 semester credit hours of undergrad history, but it seems to me ,we as workers, that in the US we have it better than any other time history. At least if you have a job that is. California nurses are some of the highest paid nurses in the country of course there is high cost of living in that area too.

All I am saying is this is a poor time for negotiations from the employees side. We effectively have a nursing glut in many parts of the country, and the country is in a recession. IMO you can only push so hard before you find yourself out of a job. All nongovernment agencies/companies seek to make a profit. The only real difference in for profit agencies and nonprofit agencies is what they do with the profits.

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No, we workers in the US do NOT have it better than any other time in history. Several decades ago there was less of a gap between the rich and the poor and there was not such a small number of people holding such a great percentage of the country's wealth (BA in History, graduated Summa Cum Laude). I understand what you are saying about pushing back too hard but when you don't push back, the greedy walk all over you. Sutter made $3.7 billion in profits over the last five years, their CEO Pat Fry was paid $4 million in 2009, and

most Sutter top executives have had raises of over 100 percent over the past few years. Sutter is trying to limit the nurses' ability to advocate for patients, ending paid sick days (forcing them to work while sick), and slashing their health care coverage and retiree health benefits. What is wrong with this picture? I'm not saying Sutter can't make money but this is pure greed!

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
No, we workers in the US do NOT have it better than any other time in history. Several decades ago there was less of a gap between the rich and the poor and there was not such a small number of people holding such a great percentage of the country's wealth (BA in History, graduated Summa Cum Laude). I understand what you are saying about pushing back too hard but when you don't push back, the greedy walk all over you. Sutter made $3.7 billion in profits over the last five years, their CEO Pat Fry was paid $4 million in 2009, and

most Sutter top executives have had raises of over 100 percent over the past few years. Sutter is trying to limit the nurses' ability to advocate for patients, ending paid sick days (forcing them to work while sick), and slashing their health care coverage and retiree health benefits. What is wrong with this picture? I'm not saying Sutter can't make money but this is pure greed!

I don't agree with loosing sick days or other benefits that are already in place, but this is going to be a hard fight.

RNs in California are averaging nearly 90K a year (Sutter quotes 138K on average for their nurses) . http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291111.htm That is far cry from being poor, and most people/nurses aren't going to have much empathy for the plight of these nurses. I am betting you could find thousands of nurses that would love to be in Sutter's nursing shoes right now averaging over 130K a year.....

I have a hard time feeling a lot of empathy if this salary is true. That is almost 40K more than I make as a military CRNA.

Oh well good luck to you guys anyways, just don't expect all nurses to agree with you on this....

P.S. I would like to know how Sutter intends to limit the nurses ability to advocate for their patients though.

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