Union Reduces Hospital Strike

Sep. 13–A large-scale Bay Area hospital strike scheduled to start today at 13 Sutter Health facilities has been scaled back to just one of the hospital centers — at least for now.

The striking union, the Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare Workers-West, said as many as 800 janitors, food service workers and patient aides would walk off the job at Sutter-owned California Pacific Medical Center, which operates three hospital campuses in San Francisco.

“CMPC is the biggest Sutter affiliate … it just makes sense for us to focus our resources on that site,” said Kay Carney, a spokeswoman for SEIU. “If we feel we need to have workers at the other sites go on strike, we will.”

The union covers about 3,500 Sutter medical center workers in the Bay Area, including licensed vocational nurses, technicians, housekeepers, food service workers and others. The two sides have been unable to reach an agreement over a new contract.

Hospital officials, meanwhile, said they were prepared. About 800 replacement janitors, food service workers and patient aides have already been hired, said CPMC spokeswoman Christine McMurry.

“We have bent over backwards to try to resolve this” contract dispute, she said. “We have made lots of good-faith efforts at reaching an agreement.”

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