Members of the California Nurses Association began a five-day strike Oct. 24 at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center campuses in Oakland and Berkeley, news station KRON reported.
The union represents 1,800 nurses at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center campuses, according to an Oct. 23 CNA news release. Alta Bates Summit Medical Center is part of Sacramento-based Sutter Health, which includes more than 20 hospitals.
Union members issued a strike notice amid contract negotiations. Sutter Health told Becker's in a statement Oct. 24 that the health system has proposed a contract that "guarantees great pay and benefits." The statement says the proposal includes a pay increase of more than 20 percent over four years, in addition to applicable step increases; continued employer-paid health coverage for nurses and their families; comprehensive workplace violence prevention plans/measures; and efforts to advance equity and promote diversity and inclusion in the hospital workforce.
The union contends that there are persistent patient care issues at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, including workplace violence and high turnover rates.
"We are seeing a mass exodus of nurses from the medical center due to the poor working conditions," Mike Hill, RN, said in the CNA news release. "Sutter has a responsibility to ensure that nurses have what they need to provide the highest quality of care and have workplace violence prevention plans for each unit in place. I am seeing nurses leave the medical center for other nursing positions on a regular basis. We have nurses working overtime, and even double shifts day after day to keep the hospital running. Sutter must create working conditions to enhance patient care while also providing a safe work environment that retains nurses."
"Our attention remains on providing safe, high-quality care to the patients and communities we're honored to serve, and we are confident in our ability to manage this disruption," Sutter Health said in a statement. "We are hopeful the union shares our desire to reach an agreement and enable our nurses to turn their focus back to the patients."
The strike is scheduled to end at 6:59 a.m. on Oct. 29.