Updated at 9:12 P.M., Friday Nov. 25
The union representing Sharp Healthcare nurses announced Friday that it plans to strike for three days beginning at 7 a.m. Monday after a daylong negotiation session failed to reach an agreement.
“Sharp has not addressed in a meaningful way any of the nurses’ core issues,” said Jeff Rogers, a communications specialist for the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care (UNAC/UHCP) professionals, which represents the nurses.
”This failure only escalates the nurse recruitment and retention crisis. At this time, negotiations have stalled and the nurses are prepared to conduct our announced strike.”
Dan Gross, Sharp executive vice president, said his organization was “extremely disappointed that the union took this position.”
“Clearly, the union’s desire for a closed shop and the money it would net outweighs their commitment to assuring the nurses they represent do not experience the economic loss that accompanies a strike and the potential impact a strike can have on their patients and the community,” Gross said.
In response to the strike, Sharp executives said they have contracted with a firm to provide trained nurses during any walkout.
According to a company statement, Sharp remains “committed to individual choice for its nurses when it comes to paying dues.”
Failed Negotiations Prompt Union Nurses to Strike Monday
The nurses intend to return to work Thursday. The union delivered the required 10-day notice to the hospital chain’s management on Nov. 17, a week after 98 percent of around 2,200 Sharp nurses who cast ballots rejected the company’s latest bargaining offer. One core issue listed by the union is pay, which union officials say is not in line with other large San Diego health care companies.
A second core issue is how to deal with cancellations when a nurse reports for his or her regularly-scheduled shift and is sent home. Other issues include union representatives having access to the nurses in the hospitals and requiring employees to join the union.
Sharp officials said they had “offered numerous concessions and enhancements to previous proposals,” which included changes in compensation and union representative access to hospitals. The hospital previously offered to hike base pay by 16 to 26 percent over a three-year period, with nearly half implemented in the first year, according to the company.
Union Releases Statement Wednesday: ‘Sharp Fails RNs Again’
However, union President Christina Magnusen said that was not entirely accurate.
“Only a quarter of the nurses could get that raise, at most,” Magnusen said. “It’s subject to management favoritism.”
“Some nurses could actually see pay cuts under that proposal and raises gained one year could be taken away the next. Clearly, it’s not going to recruit and retain strong nurses.”
According to Sharp, a report from the California Hospital Association found that the chain’s 2015 full- and part-time nursing turnover rate was 8.4 percent, the lowest in San Diego County — and this year’s numbers were about the same.
However, the UNAC/UHCP professionals released a statement Wednesday dubbed, “Sharp Fails RNs Again.” The statement said that Sharp Management failed to adequately raise wages to address recruitment and retention, ensure the security of the union and retirement benefits for long tenured nurses. Management also refuses to change a requirement that forces nurses to remain on-call after canceling their shift, explained the statement.
The average RN salary at Sharp Healthcare is approximately $74,900 in San Diego, according to a database of salary reports on GlassDoor.com.
The Sharp nurses contend that large wage increases are needed to prevent their colleagues from moving to other hospitals for better pay.
City News Service contributed to this post.