MarinHealth Medical Center workers strike as tensions escalate

Some 1,200 MarinHealth Medical Center employees staged a one-day strike on Wednesday as the hospital prepared to lock them out on Thursday and Friday.

A rally outside the hospital was the latest demonstration in a prolonged standoff over compensation and staffing levels.

Lynn Warner, the nurses’ chief representative on the bargaining team, said the hospital’s action was “in retaliation of us speaking up for our patients today.”

“This is an outrage,” Warner said at the rally. “The same hospital that complains about our health care costs is paying scabs for three days, three times what they pay us.”

A statement issued by the hospital said: “We have secured highly qualified, licensed professionals through multiple staffing agencies to ensure we are fully staffed during this period.”

“Although the unions authorized a 24-hour strike,” the statement continued, “due to the staffing agency’s contractual requirements and the logistics involved in ensuring uninterrupted patient care, MarinHealth prepared for a three-day staffing period beginning Wednesday, February 18, at 7:00 a.m., and continuing through Saturday, February 21, at 6:59 a.m.”

The striking employees consist of 700 nurses represented by California Nurses Association/National Nurses United and 500 technical and professional employees represented by Teamsters Local Union 856. The Teamsters members include respiratory therapists, anesthesia technicians, emergency department technicians, phlebotomists, surgical technologists, certified nursing assistants, environmental services aides and food service workers.

“While MarinHealth has continued elective procedures, some were rescheduled to earlier in the week or to the following week,” the hospital’s statement said.

Warner said, “They only have nine surgeries scheduled today, where they usually have 70 a day.” She also asserted that the hospital’s cardiac catheterization laboratory was insufficiently staffed to perform procedures on Wednesday.

The hospital’s statement said, “There is no disruption to the safety, quality, or availability of care for our patients and community.”

Susanna Farber, vice president and chief negotiator for Teamsters Local Union 856, said its negotiations with the hospital are scheduled to resume on Feb. 27. The talks are being conducted with the aid of a federal mediator.

The union has accused the hospital of engaging in bad-faith bargaining tactics such as canceling multiple bargaining sessions, and refusing to provide accurate information needed to understand the costs of the hospital’s health care proposal.

Warner said hospital management canceled a negotiating session with the nurses’ union that had been scheduled for Feb. 17 and has not scheduled any new meetings.

The hospital statement said, “While the bargaining session has not been scheduled, we are engaging a federal mediator to assist in concluding negotiations.”

The two major points of contention are the employees’ call for higher staffing levels to protect patient safety, and the hospital’s request that employees begin paying a share of their medical costs.

Farber has said the hospital’s proposal would increase the out-of-pocket maximum payment of employees from $1,500 to $4,000. In addition, employees would be expected to pay contributions of up to $1,000 per month.

“It would be a breaking point for my son and I if health care costs were to be increased to $1,000 per month,” said Cheryl Scorza, a certified nurse assistant and single mother who spoke at the rally.

Julia Nolan, a cardiac nurse who has worked for the hospital for seven years, said, “The proposals they’ve been giving us are very unfair and inequitable.”

Nolan said the hospital has proposed a multiyear contract during which nurses would get 1% wage increases each year. She said the hospital is also suggesting the elimination of extra pay for working evenings or nights, and requiring nurses to float to other units when needed.

California law sets minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, but Warner has said that MarinHealth Medical Center sometimes fails to comply with the law, and that nurses have submitted formal complaints to the California Department of Public Health.

Alisha Clark, a nurse who works in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, said, “Our unit has been chronically short-staffed since May. We’re fighting for our patients.”

The hospital’s statement said it “remains committed to adhering to all state-mandated nurse-to-patient ratios, which are reported to and overseen by the California Department of Public Health.”

Mark Smith, a spokesperson for the state department, said, “We will not comment on any pending or ongoing investigations until findings are complete and issued to the facility.”

Dozens of hospital employees picketed on the sidewalks outside hospital despite periodic showers Wednesday. Hospital security prevented striking workers from coming on hospital grounds.