Santa Clara County nurses plan 3-day strike
(KRON) – Santa Clara County nurses have planned a three-day strike.
The strike was approved by 97 percent of Santa Clara County nurses in the professional association who said working conditions have become extreme and now a safety concern. This results in the association asking for more pay better staffing and more security.
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This systemwide strike involves more than 3,700 registered nurses at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center O’Connor Hospital and St. Louise Regional Hospital.
All of the organization’s members are planning to walk off the job on Tuesday to begin a three-day strike as they can’t reach an agreement with county officials on a new contract.
Negotiations have been ongoing since the fall, focusing on salary, benefits, and the nurse-to-patient ratio.
Nurses say the county is not negotiating in good faith while the county says it faces a massive budget deficit but remains committed to providing a fair contract. The walkoff may affect certain services, but hospital staff tells KRON4 they are bringing in temporary staff to ensure critical care units are taken care of.
Santa Clara Valley Healthcare’s Chief Experience Officer, Dr. Jennifer Tong said, “We have a dedicated group of leaders and many staff who will be working around the clock through the weekend to make sure that we can adequately orient and train the supplemental staff who will be joining us during the strike to continue those critical services to the community.”
KRON4 has reached out to county officials and the Nurses Association for a comment and has not yet heard back.
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