United Public Workers members are set to strike Feb. 22 at three Maui Health hospitals in Hawaii.
The union represents about 500 front-line healthcare workers at Maui Health's Maui Memorial Medical Center, Kula Hospital and Lanai Community Hospital, according to a union news release. Wailuku, Hawaii-based Maui Health is affiliated with Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente.
Union members, who include nurses aides, respiratory therapists, housekeepers, cooks and other workers, have been working under a contract extension since June 30, according to the union release. Negotiations have been ongoing for nine months with no resolution. The union said that during negotiations, hospital management has failed to meet workers' demands for fair wages, better benefits and safer working conditions.
"We firmly believe that [the strike] is necessary to draw attention to our members' concerns and demands," UPW said.
in a statement shared with Becker's, Maui Health said the system is disappointed that a resolution could not be reached on a new contract and that its Maui Health Emergency Operations Center team has developed a contingency plan to reduce operational disruption during the strike.
"The safety and accessibility for our employees, providers, patients and visitors is our priority. All Maui Health System facilities, including Maui Memorial Medical Center, Maui Memorial Medical Center Outpatient Center, Kula Hospital and Lanai Community Hospital will be accessible during this time. Scheduled procedures and appointments will continue. We appreciate your patience and will provide regular updates when available," Maui Health said.