Nurses at two San Gabriel Valley hospitals vote to authorize strikes
In votes taken last week, 100% of the nurses at both facilities voted to authorize a walkout.
Nurses at Greater El Monte Community Hospital and Garfield Medical Center in Monterey Park have voted to authorize strikes, claiming they’re short-staffed, overworked and dealing with patient violence.
In votes taken last week, 100% of the nurses at both facilities voted to authorize a walkout.
The 480 SEIU 121RN-represented employees said they’ve raised their concerns with management and held informational pickets, to no avail. Both hospitals are owned by parent company AHMC Healthcare Inc., which operates nine California healthcare facilities, including seven in Southern California.
As contract negotiations approach their fifth month at Garfield and their fourth month at Greater El Monte, nurses say a strike may be their only option. Their labor contracts expired March 31.
The bargaining teams haven’t formally announced their intention to strike, but a walkout could occur as early as 10 days after they give notice to their respective hospitals.
Samantha Alegria, an emergency room nurse and member of the bargaining team at Greater El Monte, said co-workers are being driven away from the hospital out of fear for their physical safety. The medical center currently employs about 120 nurses.
Faced with violence
“We’ve had machetes brought in, razor blades, baseball bats,” she said. “We’ve had patients punch our nurses and throw objects at us. We’re here to save people, not put our own lives at risk, and management needs to start taking our safety seriously.”
Employees at Garfield, which employs about 360 nurses, have voiced similar concerns.
Christina Smith, a nurse at the Monterey Park facility, recently recalled an incident when a patient hit her in the face with a cell phone.
“She hit me as hard as she could and knocked me to the ground,” Smith said. “It was very traumatic, both physically and mentally.”
Management at Greater El Monte declined to comment on the nurses’ concerns and representatives with the Garfield medical center and AHMC could not be reached for comment.
SEIU 121RN Executive Director Rosanna Mendez said the union’s bargaining team has issued “realistic and common-sense proposals” aimed at solving an array of problems at the two hospitals.
“Seriously addressing issues like physical, emotional and mental exhaustion, critical staffing levels and future public health emergencies will benefit the entire hospital community,” Mendez said in a statement.
Nurses are also seeking assurance that the hospitals will be properly stocked with emergency protective gear in the event of another pandemic or major medical crisis.
Jennifer Huynh, an ER nurse at Garfield, said short-staffing has prompted management to shift nurses to other areas of the hospital where they may not have the familiarity and training needed to provide adequate patient care.
Union officials said management has tentatively addressed that issue, although others have yet to be resolved.
Staffing has reached ‘crisis proportions’
Smith wants Garfield to be able to recruit and retain enough nurses so they aren’t forced to do the job of two or more people — a situation that jeopardizes patient care.
“Our overwhelming workload and lack of resources prevent patients from getting the best care and contributes to low morale,” she said.
Nurses say high turnover at the two hospitals has reached “crisis proportions.”
Employees are also calling for higher wages so enough nurses can be recruited and retained.
“They bring in new nurses and train them, but they’re gone in a year because wages are so low,” Smith said. “I’ve been at Garfield for 35 years, and the money I’m making here would be the same as someone who worked just eight years at San Gabriel Valley Medical Center.”
Healthcare workers at CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center also staged a rally in March to protest short staffing and the impact it has on patients and employees.