The nurses at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women and Children voted to authorize the strike last week and gave the hospital a 10-day notice of their intent to strike.
The walk-out is currently planned to last a week, starting at 7 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 21 and ending at 6:59 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 28.
The Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association said the hospital’s management team has failed to bargain in good faith, adding they were stonewalled when asked for some concessions while accepting many terms and conditions presented by the hospital.
At a press conference Wednesday evening, Kapi‘olani Chief Operating Officer Gidget Ruscetta said the strike notice is disappointing as they have addressed the priorities presented by nurses and have given fair offers.
“The union refused our offer on several occasions to bring in a federal mediator to assist in negotiations and has yet to give the last best and final to our nurses to vote on,” Ruscetta said.
In an email to HPR, the nurses said they didn’t feel it was necessary to bring in a federal mediator and preferred to have direct negotiations between themselves and the hospital.
Ruscetta said the hospital offered across-the-board raises and longevity pay that would make experienced nurses among the highest-paid nurses in the state and offered staffing guidelines strongly aligned with most of HNA’s proposed staffing assignments.
To ensure patient services and hospital operations are not impacted by the strike, Ruscetta said the medical center has secured a workforce of temporary nurses from outside the state who are licensed to work in Hawai‘i. The temporary workforce will be in place throughout the strike.
Both sides have been negotiating since September 2023.
The previous contract expired at the end of November, leaving nurses working without a new contract.
The strike will be called off if an agreement is reached before Jan. 21.
