Nurses at Honolulu-based Hawaii Pacific Health's Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children voted to participate in a one-day strike Sept. 13, according to a Sept. 4 Facebook post from the Hawaii Nurses Association. The hospital has since said it plans to lock out HNA nurses when the strike ends if the union does not accept the medical center's contract offer, according to statements shared with Becker's.
This would be the second time the approximately 600 Kapi'olani nurses have gone on strike this year for what they characterize as unfair labor practices, according to a Sept. 3 report from The Maui News. The first strike took place Jan. 21-28.
The nurses' last contract with the medical center expired Nov. 30.
In a statement, the union alleged "retaliation, intimidation and coercive actions" by Kapi'olani against nurses who reported unsafe staffing levels.
"As nurses one of our responsibilities is to advocate for our patients," the Facebook post said. "Safe staffing is critical to ensuring that our patients receive the quality of care they deserve."
"We value our nurses and the vital role they play as part of our care team. This was certainly not what we wanted," Ray Vara, president and CEO of Hawaii Pacific Health, said in a statement shared with Becker's.
"To encourage HNA to accept Kapi'olani’s fair and generous offer, Kapi'olani will impose a lockout of all registered nurses represented by HNA at Kapi'olani who are covered by the agreement that expired on Nov. 30, 2023," the hospital's statement said.
HNA nurses will not be allowed to return to work until the union "unconditionally accepts" Kapi'olani's contract offer to its members. Kapi'olani has enlisted a temporary workforce to prevent care delays at the hospital, the statement said.
Editor's note: This story was updated on Friday, Sept. 6 at 5:29 pm CT.