Henry Mayo RNs Overwhelmingly Vote To Authorize Strike

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 10 Mar 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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Registered nurses at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, California, voted by a two to one margin last night to authorize their nurse negotiating team to call a strike if necessary, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) announced.

The strike vote was in response to a management proposal that the nurses say will severely affect their ability to deliver safe patient care. The management offer would require that evaluation be tied to performance, as determined by nursing supervisors. The RNs argue that this proposal would result in nurses being intimidated when it comes to challenging their supervisors on behalf of their patients, undermining their advocacy role.

"We want to settle our contract, but we will not sign an agreement that undermines our ability to speak freely for and in the best interest of our patients," said Susan Salkeld, RN, who works at the hospital and is a member of the CNA/NNOC RN bargaining team.

"The people who would be most hurt most by this proposal would be our patients," said Robbie Bailey, RN, who works in the cardiac care unit and is on the nurse bargaining team. Nurses will essentially be offered a bonus if they do not challenge bean counting measures that cutback on patient safety. This is wrong. It is wrong for Henry Mayo to keep this proposal on the table."

Other patient safety proposals in contention that are standard in CNA/NNOC contracts include RN-to-patient ratio protections, and improved professional education and training classes.

The contract for the nearly 350 RNs, represented by the CNA/NNOC, who work at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, expired January 21, 2009, but has been extended on a day-to-day basis since that time.

California Nurses Association

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