Posted on: Friday, December 13, 2002
Nurses resume talks on Monday
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer
Negotiations will resume Monday afternoon between the union representing striking nurses at The Queen's Medical Center and management, representatives of both sides said yesterday.
The move — a result of the union's signaling to a federal mediator that it has new proposals for management to consider — came a day before the striking nurses are scheduled to receive a partial paycheck.
About 1,400 nurses who are members of the Hawaii Nurses Association are in the second week of a strike against three of the state's largest hospitals: Queen's, Kuakini Medical Center and St. Francis Medical Center.
Caroldean Kahue, Queen's chief negotiator, said she notified federal mediator Ken Kawamoto on Wednesday that the union has a counter proposal that it wants management to consider, and heard back from him yesterday that talks could begin next week.
"I contacted the federal mediator, letting him know that there is some potential movement," Kahue said.
"It's something we feel the employer should take a look at it."
Both sides have said that the issues keeping them apart center more on working conditions than pay rates. Each hospital negotiates separately with the nurses union and has different salary schedules.
Nurses at the three hospitals currently earn $20.55 to $38.86 an hour.
Hospital spokeswoman Lynn Kenton said "the hospital was contacted at 5:15 p.m. by the federal mediator and can confirm that negotiations will resume Monday afternoon."
Kenton added, "We are hopeful that we can reach agreement soon."
About 600 nurses at Kuakini and St. Francis went on strike Dec. 1. About 800 registered nurses at Queen's began walking the picket line Dec. 2. No new talks have been scheduled at Kuakini and St. Francis.
Sue Scheider, director of collective bargaining for the nurses union, said the Hawaii Nurses Association "has continued to make it known that the union would be very interested in going back to mediation and would be available any day, any time to resume discussions with the three hospitals' management."
Scheider said negotiations are being planned as early as Monday afternoon. "We need to get back to the table and try to work this out," Kahue said.
Kahue said the pickets had also shifted at Queen's after hearing complaints from patients delayed by the nurses carrying signs in front of hospital entrances. One man protested because he and his relatives were delayed this week when they rushed to the hospital after his father was fatally injured in a traffic accident.
"We feel really bad for what's happened to this family," Kahue said. "The nurses are sensitive to people."
Kahue said the pickets will no longer block the driveway to the emergency room and they will not be at the entrance to the parking garage for the Physicians Office Buildings. She said they have attempted to make the hospital more accessible to the public while balancing the employees' right to picket.
The hospitals have continued to operate with nonunion staff and managers and by hiring replacement nurses with Queen's hiring 300 traveling nurses, Kuakini hiring 30 and St. Francis hiring four.
