The nurse’s union in Stanford began discussions with Stanford hospitals in February, with the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement (CRONA) seeking increased wages, more flexible hours, and a 12-hour weekly cap on on-call times. On April 13, out of the 3,303 nurses who work for Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford Hospital, 84 percent voted to authorize a strike if no deal could be reached.
Three mediation sessions took place last week but an agreement has still not been reached. The union has decided to move ahead with a strike, with CRONA agreeing to give the hospitals 10 days’ notice to make arrangements for patient care. Both sides will return to bargaining on Monday and Tuesday this week, but the nurse’s union is still planning to strike if a competitive compensation package and work-life protection isn’t provided.
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital is in the middle of a $1.1 billion, 521,000-square-foot expansion, expected to open in 2017. Once open, the expansion will require 500 new nurses. CRONA is aware that without competitive wages, applicants will be scared off by the expensive cost of living in Stanford’s Bay Area, known to be one of the most expensive areas in the country. Lucile Packard and Stanford hospital are already experiencing lower retention rates due to the better compensation and working conditions being offered at UC San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente.
Union nurses have participated in strikes twice before with a nine day strike in July 1974, and a June 2000 strike that lasted 50 days, making it the longest running nursing strike in California history. UC San Francisco is Stanford’s closest competitor and union leaders are aware that their wages and benefits are lagging in comparison. The two Stanford hospitals offered a 4 percent annual wage increase for three years, but the union did not accept so the bargaining will continue.
After two months of negotiations, the hospitals still remain committed to reaching an agreement accepted by both parties. Hospital leaders and union leaders will return to mediating today, bargaining until the hospitals offer an agreement in alignment with the union’s goals.
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