Press Release:Bay Area Sutter Nurses Plan May 1 Walkout
Source: National Nurses United
“As an RN at Sutter Delta Medical Center, I feel I need to go on strike for the safety of my patients,” said Sutter Delta RN Amy Black. “The medical center is attempting to take away sick leave, vacation time, and education time which effectively forces me to come to work sick, stressed, and not up to date on the latest advancements of my profession.”
In a meeting of CNA’s Sutter Joint Bargaining Council attended by dozens of Sutter RNs this week, a number of nurses repeated their desire to challenge Sutter’s attacks on nurses and patients, voicing support for the next walkout.
“These takeaways represent the greed and misplaced priorities of Sutter in its ongoing pursuit of profits over quality patient care given by the RNs,” said Alta Bates Summit RN Mike Hill. “We will continue to fight the cuts by Sutter and defend our profession and our communities.”
Among the many concession demands at various Sutter hospitals:
Eliminating paid sick leave, effectively forcing nurses to work when ill, exposing already frail and vulnerable patients to further infection.
Forcing RNs to work in hospital areas for which they do not have appropriate clinical expertise, again a safety risk for patients.
Huge increases in nurses’ out-of-pocket costs for health coverage for themselves and family members.
Limits on the ability of charge nurses, who make clinical assignments for nurses, to address staffing shortages, subjecting patients to the danger of unsafe staffing.
Forcing RNs to work overtime, exposing patients to care from fatigued nurses who are more prone to making medical errors.
Eliminating retiree health plans.
Eliminating all health coverage for nurses who work less than 30 hours per week.
Reduced pregnancy and family medical leave, undermining RN families.
Read more: http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/entry/bay-area-sutter-nurses-plan-may-1-walkout/
The demands being made on these nurses are coming to your employment next...
= new reply since forum marked as read
I fully support those nurses.
The administration that is pushing these very short-sighted and damaging proposals should be made to be patients in such a hospital.
I hope the strike opens their eyes!
A patient died at Alta Bates Sutter Medical Center in Oakland on Saturday due to an error by a scab nurse.
One might be inclined to blame the California Nurses Association (CNA), which was on strike against the hospital, except that the nurses had only engaged in a one-day strike on Thursday. When they returned to work on Friday, they found the hospital’s entrances blocked by armed guards, according to the Left Labor Reporter. They had been locked out and replaced by poorly trained scabs, one of whom accidentally killed the patient on Saturday.
The hospital, which is demanding 200 concessions from its nurses, thought they might be able to bully the nurses into accepting their demands by temporarily locking them out. Their stupid tactic not only showed an utter lack of regard for their employees, but an even greater disregard for their patients. CNA members even warned the hospital that it was unsafe to hire the scabs, as they lacked the training and experience to do the job safely.
I do recall, however, that the nurse in question was brought in from New Orleans. Apparently there's a temp agency somewhere in the Gulf South that specializes in this. 
