4,000 Bay Area Registered Nurses Prepare for 10-day Strike Against Sutter Health Over Patient Safety and Understaffing

Schedule of Events

4,000 registered nurses from eight Bay Area hospitals are preparing for a 10-day strike beginning this Friday against the Sutter Health chain, over serious and ongoing problems with patient care, medical redlining, and healthcare for nurses, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee reports. A schedule of events follows. Media events are underlined; details will be sent out each day:

Thursday March 20, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.: RNs prepare for strike at CNA headquarters, 2000 Franklin St., Oakland
Friday March 21, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.: RNs picket every facility. Kickoff event 7 am, Summit Medical Center, and major rally 12 noon Summit Medical Center
Saturday March 22, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.: “Family Day” on the picket line, with kids’ activities, facepainting, BBQ. Major rally, 12 noon, CPMC - California Campus
Easter Sunday, March 23, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.: Community and family events at all picket lines
Monday March 24 through Sunday March 30, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Picketing at all facilities, noon rallies at all facilities.
- Monday March 24, 5:30 p.m.: March and rally, St. Luke’s Hospital with local elected officials; march starts at St. Anthony Church, 3215 Cesar Chavez St., San Francisco, and continues to St. Luke’s Hospital
- Wednesday March 26, 5:30 p.m.: Candlelight vigil, San Leandro Hospital with local elected officials
- Sunday, March 30, 12 Noon: Major rally at CPMC with elected officials
Monday March 31, 7 am—Nurses return to work

At the same time, 500 RNs from Fremont-Rideout Health Group in Yuba City and Marysville will embark on a one-day strike of their own. Indicative of management’s hostile attitude to their nurses, the RNs will be locked out of that facility for an additional nine days.

The key reason for the Bay Area walkouts is the pattern of patient safety risks caused by Sutter’s refusal to schedule RNs to care for patients when nurses are on legally mandated meal or rest breaks. Such scheduling gaps leave patients unattended and at risk for sentinel events. Nurses are also concerned over Sutter’s practice of medical redlining by attempting to close hospitals in medically underserved areas (St. Luke’s Hospital in San Francisco, and San Leandro Hospital), and their refusal to agree to fair settlements on issues of healthcare and retiree healthcare and pensions.

“Sutter cannot expect RNs to sit idly by and watch the ongoing problems with patient care and patient safety at our hospitals. When there are not enough nurses, patients are put at risk, period. We don’t want to strike, but our ethical obligation as patient advocates demands it,” added Sharon Tobin, an RN at Mills-Peninsula Health Services.

Picket line addresses:

Sutter Delta Medical Center—3901 Lone Tree Way, Antioch

Mills-Peninsula Health Services, Peninsula Campus—1501 Trousdale Dr., Burlingame

Mills-Peninsula Health Services, Mills Campus—100 South San Mateo Drive, San Mateo

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Berkeley Campus—2450 Ashby Ave., Berkeley

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Herrick Campus—2001 Dwight Way, Berkeley

Alta Bates Summit, Oakland Campus—350 Hawthorne, Oakland

Eden Medical Center—20103 Lake Chabot Rd., Castro Valley

San Leandro Hospital—13855 East 14th St., San Leandro

St. Luke’s Hospital—3555 Cesar Chavez St., San Francisco

California Pacific Medical Center—3700 California St., San Francisco