Why RNs are on Strike — In Their Own Words
Northern California RNs
“We’re fighting for patient safety, we’re fighting against unsafe staffing. We believe patients deserve better. I’m inspired by my colleagues who are willing to step up and take on the Sutter Health corporation in the name of safe patient care,” said Jennifer Barker Tilly, an emergency room RN, one of 1,000 RNs represented by CNA at Sutter Roseville.
“Sutter is offering health care plans to the public that are better than what they are offering their own nurses. We need adequate health-care for ourselves and for our families along with staffing conditions that are safe. As it is, Sutter is trying to cut corners despite tremendous profits, but nurses deserve basic essentials, which, at the very least, consist of quality health coverage and safe staffing,” said Sutter Santa Rosa ER nurse Debra Bucculatto, one of 420 RNs at the hospital.
“Our willingness to strike shows that we will fight Sutter’s slash-and-burn agenda. As a nurse negotiator I am proud to stand with my fellow Mills-Peninsula RNs: united, determined, and strong,” said Chris Picard, Family Birth Center RN who is among 700 Mills-Peninsula RNs.
“We are not willing to accept the significant healthcare cost increases being proposed by Sutter,” said Sandy Ralston, a recovery room RN and one of 250 RNs at Sutter Auburn Faith. “It’s wrong to squeeze out even more profits by forcing rates on us that are so high. It’s frightening how focused on profits this corporation is.”
“We truly see the value in being united with other Sutter nurses,” said Dotty Nygard, one of 175 RNs at Sutter Tracy. “It has been a remarkable experience to witness our collective voice grow stronger as union nurses since we initially voted in the union. We are proudly standing up for safe patient care, a fair contract, and respect for our profession.”
At Roseville, “Labor and Delivery staffing cuts are being carried out under the guise of ‘efficiency’ when they are actually about cutting the quality of care,” said Labor and Delivery RN Andrea Seils. “Sutter is trying to restructure our unit to eliminate positions and combine care with no economic or operations justification for any of it. It’s unsafe for mothers and babies in our community.”
Southern California RNs
“We are striking to improve the quality of patient care and improve staffing,” said Susan Fong, an Operating Room RN, one of 1,100 nurses at Kaiser LAMC. “Kaiser needs need to invest in staffing so that the nurses can adequately care for the large increase in patients.”
“As the healthcare industry continues to change, the role of the RN remains the same, to advocate for our patients. We want patient safety regulations and protections added to our contract. Patients come first,” said Intensive Care Unit RN Heather Garrant, one of 700 RNs at Providence Health’s Little Company of Mary Torrance.
Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica is refusing to address critical patient safety concerns raised by the 520 RNs at the facility. “Turnover has been huge at this hospital because we as nurses don’t feel we can deliver the kind of patient care we need to,” said Liz Wade, a Labor and Delivery nurse. “The chronic short staffing, lack of break relief nurses and management’s refusal to respond seriously to our safety demands sends a bad message to RNs and the community.”
“We the nurses have been demanding more staffing for months but our desperate calls for help have fallen on deaf ears,” said Kaiser LAMC RN Tinny Abogado. “The short staffing puts patients at risk through unwarranted delays in care. We will not remain silent when our patients are facing undue danger and lack of care because Kaiser won’t invest in improving staffing so that we can provide safe, quality care for our patients.”
“Nurses want management to respect the nurses,” said Torrance surgical unit RN Ludy Chang. “We want improvement in safe staffing and the delivery of safe patient care. We are here for our patients, our colleagues and our community” and need to make sure we can deliver the highest quality of care for them all year long, Chang said.
Chris Busch, a Pre-Op Nurse with over 30 years at Saint John’s, said “We are saddened that Providence, with its vast resources, has ignored our warnings about the retention crisis – they cannot get and keep enough good nurses staff this hospital safely,” said Chris Busch, pre-op RN at Saint John’s. “Below-market staffing and below-market compensation is a dangerous combination, and RNs are leaving for hospitals that staff and pay better.”
“A nurse is not a product or commodity, we are patient care providers,” said Torrance RN Maria Vazquez, who cares for cancer patients and patients on monitors. “The experience of each nurse must be valued because the safety for each patient depends on knowledgeable nurses. It's important to retain our newer nurses so they can become a well-rounded experienced RN. The strike vote will send a strong message to Providence that RNs are serious about fighting for patient care.”