200 nurses at St. Rose Hospital and 78 nurses at John Muir Behavioral Health Center to go on strike for fair contracts

Nurses at St. Rose Hospital in Hayward, Calif. and John Muir Behavioral Health Center in Concord, Calif. will hold two separate strikes, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU). Beginning May 2, RNs will strike to protest their respective managements’ refusal to address demands for fair contracts. The St. Rose strike will last for two days and the John Muir strike for one day.

• Who: Registered nurses at St. Rose Hospital and John Muir Behavioral Health Center
• What: Strikes for fair contracts
• When & Where:
  • St. Rose Hospital, 27200 Calaroga Ave, Hayward, CA 94545 | Tuesday, May 2, 7 a.m. to Thursday, May 4, 6:59 a.m.
  • John Muir Behavioral Health Center, 2740 Grant St, Concord, CA 94520 | Wednesday, May 3, 7 a.m. to Thursday, May 4, 6:59 a.m.

“Management has made major changes to nurses and case managers' health benefits without our agreement,” said Dianne Kubota, RN in the medical-surgery and telemetry unit at St. Rose Hospital. "Changes to access and trusted providers can have negative outcomes that we cannot support. As nurses and case managers, we are part of the community and advocate for quality health care for all, including for our own families."

“John Muir has plenty of resources to provide quality care at its Behavioral Health Center, but is failing to uphold its moral duty to nurses, patients, and our community,” Amy Welsh-Ross, RN in the chemical dependency unit at BHC, where nurses unanimously voted to authorize a strike. “Their understaffing is resulting in unsafe assignments, new nurses working without proper support or training, and experienced nurses regularly leaving for better benefits and conditions elsewhere.”

This notice follows a strike authorization vote by Hayward nurses on April 5 and Concord nurses on April 13. Nurses have given advance notice to their respective facilities. More details on media availability and picket locations will be provided later this week.

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.