Here are 12 petitions for unionization, strikes, contract deals and other developments in the healthcare workforce that occurred in February, as reported by Becker’s:
1. Members of SEIU Local 121RN planned to begin a five-day strike March 2 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif.The union represents more than 1,000 nurses at the hospital, according to a Feb. 27 SEIU Local 121RN. Providence Saint Joseph is part of Renton, Wash.-based Providence, a 51-hospital system with about 125,000 caregivers.
2. Members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals began an open-ended walkout Jan. 26 involving 31,000 registered nurses and healthcare professionals across more than two dozen Kaiser Permanente hospitals and hundreds of clinics in California and Hawaii. They returned to work Feb. 24 at Kaiser Permanente facilities in both states.
4. About 400 Kaiser mental health professionals — including therapists, social workers and psychologists serving patients in the Bay Area, Central Valley and Sacramento — authorized a one-day unfair labor practice strike. The authorization by National Union of Healthcare Workers members follows a vote that ended Feb. 21, with 92% backing the action. The vote follows an unfair labor practice charge filed by NUHW alleging Kaiser unilaterally changed its mental health triage system. NUHW has not set a strike date but is considering holding the strike in March.
5. MultiCare Yakima (Wash.) Memorial Hospital began posting positions to replace Teamsters Local 760 members who have been on strike for more than a month February 23. Members of Teamsters Local 760 began striking Jan. 17. The union represents 168 technical employees at the Yakima facility, including workers in surgery, radiology, MRI, pharmacy and laboratory departments.
6. The final group of striking New York City nurses reached a tentative agreement Feb. 19. The NewYork-Presbyterian nurses, along with those at Montefiore Health System and Mount Sinai Health System, began their strike Jan. 12. Montefiore and Mount Sinai nurses were on strike for more than four weeks and returned to work Feb. 14 after ratifying agreements.
7. Members of the California Nurses Association called off their one-day strike planned for Feb. 19 after reaching a tentative labor contract with AHMC Seton Medical Center in Daly City, Calif.
8. Nurses at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Pa., ratified a three-year labor contract Feb. 19. The agreement covers 630 registered nurses at the 373-bed hospital. Union officials said 94% of participating nurses voted in favor of ratification.
9. Members of two unions shared plans to strike for one day Feb. 18 at MarinHealth Medical Center in Greenbrae, Calif. The strike involves more than 700 nurses represented by the California Nurses Association and 500 members of Teamsters Local 856, including respiratory therapists, anesthesia technicians, emergency department technicians, phlebotomists, surgical technologists, certified nursing assistants, environmental services aides and food service workers.
10. Registered nurses and licensed medical professionals at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana (Calif.) Medical Center began a five-day strike Feb. 16.
11. More than 3,000 pharmacy and lab workers represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers ended a three-day strike Feb. 12 at Kaiser Permanente facilities across Southern California and Kern County.
12. About 2,100 nurses and healthcare workers from four hospitals operated by Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare shared plans to strike across California and Nevada. One-day strikes were planned Feb. 18-19 at facilities in Reno, Nev., and Redding, Calif., while a three-day strike was slated to begin Feb. 17 at West Anaheim Medical Center in Anaheim, Calif.
