SAN DIEGO — After numerous rounds of contract negotiations, roughly 1,600 nurses employed by Rady Children's Hospital filed a notice saying they intend to strike starting Aug. 19.
According to the the Executive Director of United Nurses of Children's Hospital (UNOCH) Teamsters Local 1699 Katie Langenstrass, the nurses filed a 10-day notice after an "unproductive meeting" with Rady Children's Hospital Thursday morning.
The five-day strike will begin at 7 a.m. August 19 and go until 6:59 a.m. August 24.
"After the membership voted down the hospital’s latest offer, we wanted to swiftly get back to the table to try to secure a fair contract for our 1,600 nurses," Langenstrass said. "Despite making our demands clear, the hospital has yet again refused to offer us the wages we are asking for and have forced us back out to the picket line."
She also says the revised offer had improvements for a fraction of employees, but not all.
"While there were some improvements in the latest offer, it was evident that the hospital was attempting to divide us by reallocating money from some members to others," she said. "This is unacceptable. As Teamsters, we stand united in our fight for a fair contract that benefits all nurses."
Both Teamsters and the hospital said in statements they remain open to reaching an agreement.
A Rady Children's representative said the most recent offer was "fair, competitive and sustainable" and the hospital allocated funds to the areas believed to have the greatest need.
"Rady Children’s is reinitiating its strike contingency plan to ensure the Hospital can continue to be the pediatric safety net for the community’s children and families," a statement from Rady Children's said.
Negotiations have been taking place since May. The nurses' most recent contract expired June 30, and they conducted a two-day strike in late July.
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