Nurses and healthcare workers at four hospitals operated by Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare hospitals held one-day strikes Sept. 3, California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United, confirmed to Becker’s.
The walkouts covered more than 2,200 nurses and healthcare workers at West Anaheim (Calif.) Medical Center, Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nev., Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago and Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding, Calif., according to the union. Nurses and healthcare workers at the California and Nevada hospitals have been working without contracts since last year, while nurses at Saint Mary of Nazareth are seeking a first contract after voting to unionize in June.
The union said workers are seeking staffing that meets patient needs and incentives aimed at retaining nurses and other healthcare workers.
A Prime spokesperson previously told Becker’s that the system respects nurses’ rights to engage in lawful protected activity and has plans in place to ensure uninterrupted hospital operations and patient care during the strikes. In an updated statement addressing its Illinois hospitals, the spokesperson said staffing levels follow best practices and meet state and regulatory standards. At Saint Mary of Nazareth, Prime said it is committed to bargaining in good faith, disputed the union’s characterization of the bargaining process and said the strike was not expected to disrupt patient care or essential services.
The labor activity extends beyond the four hospitals involved in the Sept. 3 strikes. Nurses at Prime’s Olympia Fields (Ill.) Hospital demonstrated Sept. 3 and plan a one-day strike Sept. 15. Nurses and healthcare workers at the three California and Nevada hospitals that struck Sept. 3 also plan sympathy strikes Sept. 15, while nurses at Saint Mary of Nazareth and Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston plan informational pickets. More than 2,800 workers are expected to participate in the strikes or pickets, according to the union.
Nurses at Olympia Fields, Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, Ill., and Central Maine Medical Center have filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board seeking union elections. Elections are scheduled for Sept. 17 at Saint Francis and for Sept. 23 at Olympia Fields and Central Maine Medical Center.
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