Posted on: Monday, May 12, 2003

19 striking nurses at Wahiawa get new jobs elsewhere, union says

Advertiser Staff and News Services

The union representing striking nurses at Wahiawa General Hospital announced last night that 19 of the nurses have found work at other medical facilities.

The union also said that another round of negotiations is tentatively set for Wednesday night.

More than 60 nurses at the Central O'ahu hospital went on strike last Monday when the Hawaii Nurses Association and hospital officials failed to reach agreement on a new contract.

"We have learned that 19 nurses on the day shift have found work at other facilities," striking registered nurse Ella Siroskey said in a statement released by the union. "We are talking about almost one-third of the workforce here."

At least three of the 19 nurses have submitted their resignations, union officials said.

Hospital spokesman Richard Aea could not be reached for comment yesterday, but he has said nurse managers are filling in for strikers.

The last contract negotiating session was held April 30.

According to the union, a federal mediator contacted Sue Scheider, the union's collective bargaining director, late yesterday afternoon to arrange the resumption of talks.

Scheider will have to juggle her schedule because she is involved in negotiations with Wilcox Memorial Hospital on Kaua'i, and those talks were set for today, tomorrow and Wednesday.

At Wahiawa, the union has said the key issue is a proposed cut in benefits that would undermine a proposed pay increase. Scheider said the proposed wage increase would be offset if the union accepts a management proposal to have nurses pay a bigger share of their medical costs.

But management said employees would still receive an overall increase in compensation.

Last week Aea said the employee share of copayments would increase by $4 to $13 a month.

He said nurses are being offered a 5 percent raise to their current base pay of $28.60 an hour, increasing their pay by $232 a month. "We're wondering how they can say it (the increased medical costs) offsets it," he said.

Union members said the two sides are not far apart on wages. But there are sticking points in the benefits package, including health insurance, increased pay for more senior workers and access to retiree benefits.