Wahiawa nurses in talks over work agreement

By Robbie Dingeman and Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writers

Striking nurses and managers from Wahiawa General Hospital agreed on a tentative settlement Tuesday night but went back to the bargaining table last night trying to resolve the details of a back-to-work agreement.

Both sides said they hope to complete negotiations so that ratification votes can be taken today. Negotiators continued to meet late last night.

Sue Scheider, the Hawai'i Nurses' Association Collective Bargaining Organization director, left the meeting shortly after 6 a.m. yesterday to attend an all-day meeting.

"There are still multiple issues left to resolve in the back-to-work agreement that could indeed delay or prevent resolution," she said.

The walkout of nearly 65 registered nurses began May 5 at the 162-bed Wahiawa General Hospital, the only 24-hour primary and emergency care medical facility between 'Ewa and Kahuku.

The return-to-work agreement covers issues such as when health benefits resume, what shifts people work initially, seniority and vacations.

Hospital spokesman Richard Aea confirmed that the tentative deal calls for wage increases of 19 percent over three years and that management dropped a proposed increase in medical co-payments. Wahiawa nurses earn $28.60 an hour.

The strike by the Wahiawa nurses was part of what has been a turbulent year for O'ahu hospitals.

In December, nearly 1,400 nurses at three major hospitals — St. Francis Medical Center, Kuakini Medical Center and The Queen's Medical Center — went on strikes that lasted six to eight weeks.