World News
Nurses plan one-day strike against West Coast Catholic hospitals
Published:
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Thousands of registered nurses at three Catholic hospital systems in California and Nevada are planning a one-day strike Oct. 30 to protest stalled contract talks and what they said are the hospitals' lax safety standards in dealing with the H1N1 flu. Working under several extensions since contracts expired June 30, more than 10,000 members of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee have called the 24-hour strike against nearly three dozen hospitals. They also plan to conduct informational picketing at several others in an effort to force hospital administrators to adopt strict guidelines to limit the spread of what is popularly known as the swine flu. Representatives of the three hospital systems expressed dismay at the nurses' decision to strike, with one hospital spokeswoman calling it "ill-considered." "We're getting ready (to strike)," Lorna Grundeman, a registered nurse at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, Calif., and a member of the union's bargaining committee, told Catholic News Service Oct. 20. The nurses are planning to set up picket lines at 7 a.m. Oct. 30 at hospitals operated by Catholic Healthcare West, St. Joseph Health System and the Daughters of Charity Health System.
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