Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital Strike Possible : Impasse Reached on Negotiations With Nurses

Once again, Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital appears to be careening towards a strike.  After more than a year of negotiations, management has declared an impasse with the union which represents the nurses at the hospital.  Although hospital administrators have requested that a neutral third-party mediator or “fact-finder” get involved in the situation, the California Nurses Association has yet to respond and their members have already authorized a strike.  The issues are many with the two sides now deadlocked on pay, health benefits, overtime and the terms of a proposed nursing reorganization program.  It will be sad if a strike is called before the Christmas holidays, a traditionally busy time for hospitals.