Sacramento-based Sutter Health said nurses who went on strike April 18 will not be allowed to return to work until the morning of April 23, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The strike affected nurses and healthcare workers at Sutter Health facilities in Northern California. The nurses are members of the California Nurses Association, and the other workers are members of the Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union, an affiliate of the California Nurses Association.
More than 8,000 registered nurses and healthcare workers were expected to participate in the strike, according to an April 18 news release from the unions.
In a statement shared with Becker's, Sutter Health said the organization conducted strike contingency planning, which included "securing staff to replace nurses who have chosen to strike, and those replacement contracts provide the assurance of five days of guaranteed staffing amid the uncertainty of a widespread work stoppage."
"As always, our top priority remains safe, high-quality patient care and nurses may be reinstated sooner based on operational and patient care needs," the statement said.
The California Nurses Association described Sutter Health's decision as retaliatory, as well as "completely unnecessary and vindictive."
"Nurses who are regularly scheduled to work during this lockout period will lose those days of pay," the union said in a statement shared with Becker's. "We urge Sutter to respect the nurses' strike and let all nurses return to work."
Sutter Health workers authorized a strike in March, and union officials announced an official strike notice April 8. Union members cited lack of transparency about the stockpile of personal protective equipment supplies and contact tracing as a reason for the strike. They also said they seek a contract that will help retain experienced nurses and provide sufficient staffing and training.
Nurses have been in contract negotiations since June.