Nurses at Rady Children Hospital reject collective agreement and prepare for possible strike

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Rady Children’s Hospital is preparing for a possible strike after nurses overwhelmingly voted against the recent labor contract, authorizing a strike if necessary.

“This is the first time the nurses’ group has rejected a contract, and this is the first strike vote we’ve held,” said Katie Langenstrass, a registered nurse at Rady Children’s Hospital and executive director of UNOCH Local 1699.

Contract negotiations began in May and continued without result until Wednesday. The current collective agreement expired on June 30.

“We will continue to negotiate. This is a great contract. It is the best the nurses have ever received. It will pay them well above market rate,” said Chris Abe, vice president of operations at Rady Children’s Hospital.

The majority of the more than 1,600 nurses of United Nurses of Children’s Hospital Local 1699 have rejected the recent collective bargaining agreement. They say they are fighting not only for a living wage, but also for better benefits.

“They felt that the offer did not meet their needs in terms of salary and, above all, social benefits,” said Langenstrass.

The hospital management emphasizes that the planned salary increase is significant.

“That’s a 22% increase over three years. That’s really a big increase. The average nurse makes $70 an hour. That’s a lot of money when you look at the average salary in San Diego County,” Abe said.

According to Langenstrass, nurses feel that they lack social benefits such as pensions and health insurance.

“We are in the health care business and can barely afford our own health care. The nurses saw an offer that did not take into account those who did not put them at market value with the other hospitals when it came to the flat rate, so they turned down the offer,” she said.

Nurses also say they want a contract that allows them to retain talented and dedicated staff to ensure the best possible care for patients.

“Our ultimate goal is a deal that meets the needs of the members and allows us to continue to recruit and retain the best of the best,” Langenstrass said.

The hospital says it shares the goal of putting patients first, but still hopes to reach an agreement soon.

“We are all here for the same reason. The nurses and the organization are here to take care of the children. Nobody wants to strike. Nobody wants to argue,” Abe said.

The union would have to give 10 days’ notice before officially going on strike. The two groups will next meet on Monday.