RNs have made numerous proposals to improve working conditions, but hospital fails to respond and continues to drag out negotiations

Registered nurses at Alameda and San Leandro Hospitals in the East Bay will hold an informational picket at San Leandro Hospital on Oct. 30, 2024, to highlight a number of significant patient safety concerns that Alameda Health Systems (AHS) has failed to meaningfully address during contract bargaining, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) today.

"We have had over 20 bargaining sessions since December 2023 and have been out of a contract since April of this year," said Mawata Kamara, an RN in the emergency department at San Leandro Hospital and a California Nurses Association board member. "Throughout negotiations, our goal has been to address the working conditions that will recruit, retain, and respect nurses. Unfortunately, AHS' most recent responses at the table fall short of addressing these issues. We know the best patient care comes from staff nurses who are committed to our community and have the resources they need to provide the highest quality of care."

Who:    RNs at San Leandro and Alameda Hospitals 

What:   Informational Picket 

When:  Wednesday October 30, 2024, 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Where: 13855 E 14th St, San Leandro, CA 94578

For the past 11 months, nurses have made proposals during bargaining to improve upon the following issues:

• Short staffing and staffing cuts
• Excessive use of temporary travel nurses
• Workplace violence
• Inappropriate use of technology, including tele-health monitoring
• Unfair scheduling
• Inadequate meal and rest breaks
• Workplace discrimination

In that period, AHS has failed to address the poor working conditions that drive nurses away from the bedside. Instead, they have focused their efforts, away from the bargaining table, on cost-cutting measures and pursuing the closure of entire surgical units.

"After all this time and little movement at the bargaining table, we're taking our concerns directly to the community to educate the public on dire staffing conditions, like their overuse of traveler nurses who have no connection to the patient population who seek care at Alameda and San Leandro Hospitals," said Linda Strack, an operating room RN. "It's time they genuinely address our concerns so that we can best serve our patients and community."

CNA represents about 300 registered nurses at Alameda and San Leandro Hospitals combined.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and nearly 225,000 RNs nationwide.