Registered nurses and other health care workers at 13 Sutter Health facilities are holding informational pickets this week, the California Nurses Association said, after contract talks that began in early August. A Sutter spokesperson told the Antioch Herald the company was disappointed the union called pickets “in this early stage of contract bargaining, when proposals on key topics like wages have yet to be exchanged.”
Why it matters: The union, which says it represents more than 10,000 Sutter nurses and health care workers in Northern California, is seeking improved staffing and safety, recruitment and retention terms, and protections against untested artificial intelligence systems in patient care. Hospitals are expected to stay open.
Wednesday’s pickets include Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame from 2 to 5 p.m. and Sutter Solano in Vallejo from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., according to the union’s schedule. A Friday picket is planned at CPMC’s Davies Campus in San Francisco from 2 to 4 p.m. Nurses notified Sutter on Oct. 29 that the actions were coming, the union said.
“After three months at the table with Sutter, and dozens of proposals presented, it is clear that management is not taking us seriously,” said Jessica Fernandez, an ICU nurse at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch. Sutter said it “respects our employee’s rights to participate in lawful picketing” and is committed to continued bargaining, and that “our hospitals and care sites will remain open and focused on providing safe, high-quality care.”