Posted on: Monday, May 14, 2001

No talks scheduled in Moloka'i nurse strike

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Moloka'i's six registered nurses from the island's only hospital remained on strike yesterday with no date set for negotiations to resume.

They walked an "informational" picket line in a park in downtown Kaunakakai and near the hospital, said Dino Fontes, one of the striking nurses. No efforts were made to stop traffic in and out of the hospital.

Fontes and Wendy Gorka from the Hawaii Nurses Association, who is assisting the strikers and their negotiator, said the community support seemed extensive.

The union says the nurses have not received a pay raise and are asking for a one-time bonus and a 1 percent raise. Negotiations, which broke down last week, are not yet scheduled to resume, Gorka said.

The hospital on Moloka'i is owned by The Queen's Health System. Nurses there are the lowest paid in the state. The 30-bed Moloka'i General is the only clinic on the island that offers emergency care.

Hospital administrators could not be reached for comment yesterday.