Thousands of registered nurses and other healthcare workers at Sharp Healthcare are set to strike on Wednesday, calling for better pay, improved sick leave policies and adequate staffing to ensure patient safety.
Members of the Sharp Professional Nurses Network and Sharp Chula Vista health care professionals voted in favor of authorizing a strike earlier in November.
“Our members have told us their most important items are wages and sick time, and retiree medical benefits,” Andrea Muir, the president of the Sharp Professional Nurses Network, told NBC 7 in early November.
Muir said their contract proposal includes pay increases of around 7% in the year following ratification, plus $1.25 per hour; then, for the second and third year of the contract, 5% raises plus $1 per hour; then, in the fourth year, a 4% increase, plus $1 an hour, all of which, they say, will keep their compensation competitive with nurses at Scripps and Kaiser. Muir said, however, that Sharp is proposing a 1% raise.
Muir said other hospital systems frontload sick time at the beginning of the year, but at Sharp, it accrues throughout the year forcing some to make tough decisions about calling out sick. Sharp nurses are also seeking retirement benefits at least until the employees are eligible for Medicare at age 65.
Also striking are 127 health care professionals, comprised of pharmacists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists, medical social workers, registered dietitians and speech-language pathologists.
The strike is scheduled to start at 7 a.m. Wednesday and last until 7 a.m. Saturday.
The nurses are seeking better pay, improved sick leave policies and adequate staffing to ensure patient safety. NBC 7’s Kelvin Henry reports.
NBC 7 received the following statement from Sharp HealthCare after the strike was approved:
Sharp is currently in contract negotiations with the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC-UHCP), the union that represents our registered nurses. Despite months of bargaining in good faith, we were informed on Nov. 7 that the bargaining unit members have voted to authorize a strike. While this vote does not mean a strike will occur immediately, it does reflect the significance of the issues being discussed at the bargaining table.
Sharp deeply values our nurses and the critical role they play in delivering compassionate, high-quality care to our community. Sharp has put forward a strong proposal for our nurses, who currently earn more than $77 per hour on average, plus benefits. The proposal includes significant increases to this pay, plus enhancements to extended sick insurance (ESI) and retirement benefits. At the same time, we are mindful of the current and future financial challenges facing Sharp and other not-for-profit health systems.
We remain committed to quickly reaching a fair and responsible contract for our nurses. Plans are in place to ensure our patients continue to receive the high-quality care they need and deserve during a potential work stoppage. We have additional bargaining sessions scheduled for Nov. 12 and 13.