Thousands of Sutter Health nurses ready to strike Monday across Bay Area
Thousands of Sutter Health nurses ready to strike Monday across Bay Area
Thousands of nurses and healthcare workers across the Bay Area are planning to walk off the job on Monday at a dozen Sutter Health facilities. In anticipation of the strike, Sutter Health says it’s planning to bring in replacement contract workers for the day.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Thousands of nurses and healthcare workers across the Bay Area are planning to walk off the job on Monday at a dozen Sutter Health facilities. In anticipation of the strike, Sutter Health says it’s planning to bring in replacement contract workers for the day.
The California Nurses Association and Sutter Health are continuing to try to hammer out a last minute deal for a new contract, but have yet to reach an agreement on issues focused on safe staffing levels, protections against workplace violence, and the current supply levels of personal protective equipment (PPE).
"We would much rather be in the hospital taking care of patients, but it’s gotten to the point where we have to strike," said registered nurse, Amy Erb.
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Erb is among eight thousand Sutter Health nurses and health workers planning to go on strike Monday across Northern California. 12 of the 18 impacted healthcare facilities are located in the Bay Area.
The contract dispute has been ongoing since June of 2021, and the potential for a strike has been looming for weeks.
Sutter Health released a statement on Sunday, saying in part, "We hope the union will call off this strike, so our nurses can return to work and do what they do best—care for our patients. We remain committed to continue bargaining as long as negotiations are progressing effectively toward averting the strike."
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Erb says she isn't expecting a resolution unless both sides are able to finally find some common ground on the key remaining issues, including staff shortages.
"Short staffing at Sutter hospitals has been going on for years," said Erb. "They try to keep us as lean as possible, and have us do more with less every day. It creates an unsafe situation where nurses are exhausted and not getting breaks. Where patients won’t get the time and attention that they deserve and we want to give."
Barring a last minute deal, nurses and health care workers will be picketing from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the following facilities:
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
Summit Campus
350 Hawthorne Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
Ashby Campus
2450 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
Herrick Campus
2001 Dwight Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
Sutter Solano Medical Center
300 Hospital Drive, Vallejo, CA 94589
Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital
30 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Sutter Coast Hospital
800 East Washington Boulevard, Crescent City, CA 95531
Sutter Tracy Community Hospital
1420 N. Tracy Blvd, Tracy, CA 95376
California Pacific Medical Center
1101 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA, 94109
California Pacific Medical Center
3555 Cesar Chavez, San Francisco, CA 94110
Santa Cruz VNA
2880 Soquel Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Eden Medical Center
20103 Lake Chabot Rd., Castro Valley 94546
Sutter Delta Medical Center
3901 Lone Tree Way, Antioch, CA 94509
Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital
11815 Education Street, Auburn, CA 95661
Sutter Roseville Medical Center
1 Medical Center Drive, Roseville, CA, 95661
Sutter Lakeside Hospital
5176 Hill Rd. E, Lakeport, CA 95453
Mills-Peninsula Medical Center
1501 Trousdale Drive, Burlingame, CA 94010
Novato Community Hospital
180 Rowland Way, Novato, CA 94945
Sutter Center for Psychiatry
7700 Folsom Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95826