Nurses from Riverside Community Hospital, West Hills Hospital and Medical Center and Los Robles Health System have authorized a 10-day strike starting the day before Christmas, accusing them of unfair labor practices and failing to protect staff during the Christmas virus epidemic.
Now the union, SEIU 121RN, has agreed to a new agreement, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Healthcare Corps of the U.S. Far West Division, which operates three facilities.
“This is a positive development for our colleagues, patients, fellow medical providers and the communities we serve,” the company said. “We applaud community leaders who put the needs of the community first last week and expressed concern about the planned strike.”
The union had confirmed that a temporary deal had been struck, but noted that it still had to vote by full membership, expected on 22 and 23 December.
The union said the two sides had spent more than 100 hours in negotiations since Dec. 11.
“We were able to get some strong epidemic safety guarantees in our union agreement – it could be one of the first health care unions in the country to have such a strong language in our agreement,” said Riverside nurse Carrie Cavazos. Union at the hospital. “Nurses and licensed professionals, even during this epidemic – to ensure that our hospitals are better prepared for public health emergencies.”
The timing of the planned strike has raised concerns among doctors and hospital administrators who are struggling with the influx of patients during the rise of COVD-19. Many hospitals in Southern California report near or close to their maximum capacity, especially in their intensive care units.
A group of doctors practicing at those three hospitals and not interfering in labor disputes in general urged nurses to reconsider the strike time.
“It’s unusual, but it shows the point that this is an unusual time,” said Dr. Ste of Riverside Community Hospital. Said Steven Kim. “It’s a crucial time, and we felt so strongly that without our nursing partners, patients’ lives would no doubt be at stake.”
The strike was authorized by the union after it expressed concern that the level of staff was insufficient to protect nurses during the coronavirus epidemic and that inadequate measures had been taken. They said there are cases of lack of protective equipment, inadequate testing and cases of patients who had not previously been infected.
Last week, the nurses’ union said two staff members on Riverside had died “and there have been a number of illnesses, the disease has spread to co-workers and possibly non-protected patients.”
HCAA said hospitals are working to protect the health of patients and staff. The company said in a statement on Saturday: “During the bargaining process, our hospitals continued to put the health and well-being of our colleagues and patients first, and we will continue to do so, as we collectively fight the epidemic that has brought so much suffering. Communities. “
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