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NewsBriefs:October 2007 11/16/07 2:14 PM Page 4 NewsBriefs SUTTER UPDATE fter a two-day strike in October that included 5,000 nurses across the San Francisco Bay Area (see the October 2007 issue of Registered Nurse), Sutter RNs continue to stand firm in demanding better patient care and retirement with dignity. Small improvements have been agreed upon in several individual contracts, but overall, nurses refuse to budge on the larger, more contentious issues that mean a better quality of life for themselves and for their patients. RNs struck 13 Sutter facilities on Oct. 10 and 11 over Sutter's continued unwillingness to address crucial issues relating to staffing ratios. RNs voiced concern that understaffing was leading many to skip crucial rest and meal breaks, creating a dangerous situation for themselves and their patients. Understaffing also leads many charge nurses at Sutter to provide break relief, stretching the staff of skilled RNs even thinner. While Sutter claims that its facilities A adhere to state-mandated nurse-to-patient ratios, it has paid out millions of dollars to nurses in compensation for missed breaks. Sutter has also put several takeaways on the table relating to healthcare and retirement benefits. RNs faced increasing outof-pocket costs associated with new pseudo"wellness" programs, and faced greater restrictions on which doctors they could visit. For RNs in certain communities, such as St. Luke's in San Francisco, the threat of hospital closure has added another concern to the reasons for striking. The strike was a huge success, with greater than 95 percent participation by RNs. Community support was overwhelming, even during the ensuing lockouts at some facilities. Five have since returned to the bargaining table, and other facilities have indicated a willingness to return to negotiations in the weeks since. Sutter RNs have remained spirited in the face of management stubbornness and are CALIFORNIA 4 REGISTERED NURSE W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G eager to do whatever it takes to ensure that vital patient protections and professional benefits are enacted in their next contracts. General membership meetings are planned for Sutter RNs starting the week before Thanksgiving and continuing the following week. —staff report NOVEMBER 2007