More than 350 healthcare workers are ready to strike on Monday at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch for the second time recently.
Workers are citing understaffing, unfair labor practices and difficult working conditions as the main reasons for this latest strike. This is the second time that workers have protested in the last month, after an Oct. 4 demonstration related to the same complaints.
Negotiations, mediated by federal oversight, were abruptly canceled on Sunday by Sutter Delta management, according to a release issued by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West later that evening.
After the cancellation, U.S. Reps. Mark DeSaulnier and Jerry McNerney, both of whom represent districts that cover portions of Contra Costa County, wrote to Sutter Health pleading for a resolution to the dispute.
"We understand that finding trained and qualified health care workers is a challenge right now, not just for Sutter Delta, but across the country," the letter read. "It is our understanding that this hospital has not seen a significant drop in patients over the last few years, but dozens of workers have resigned their positions during this time and have not been replaced, which has greatly increased the workload on those who remain. For the health and safety of the people of Antioch and surrounding communities, this issue must be resolved."
Workers at the facility have been feeling overwhelmed by the patient caseload. The pandemic has only exacerbated understaffing and worsening conditions.
"We are exhausted and overwhelmed, and we feel like Sutter management is ignoring our concerns. Our hospital has multiple job openings that haven't been posted because management feels they don't need the positions filled," said Stefanye Sartain, a respiratory therapist at Sutter Delta Medical Center. "But we are so short-staffed, it's hard to provide adequate care. Sutter is eroding the staff and it's not safe for patients or workers."
Sutter management has expressed disappointment that the decision to issue a strike was made so soon after Sunday’s negotiation discussion ended.
"After that, we had no choice but to turn our focus to our top priority—meeting the needs of our patients by securing qualified workers to replace the staff who decide to walk off the job instead of caring for patients," said a statement provided to KCBS Radio by a Sutter spokesperson.
The health provider’s current offer towards workers includes a 13% salary increase over four years and 100% employer-paid health coverage for employees and their families, according to the statement.
While the offer was accepted by seven other hospitals under the Sutter umbrella, "the union at Sutter Delta continues to be the one outlier, distracting from patient care instead of focusing on reaching a fair agreement on behalf of their members," read the statement.
"The union talks freely about the staffing and patient care needs of the hospital, but when push comes to shove, it’s the union that is asking employees to walk out on their patients," the statement said.
