Workers at 13 Sutter Health facilities across Northern California are to hold informational pickets this week amid stalled negotiations over a new contract.
The demonstrations, organised by the California Nurses Association (CNA) and its affiliate the Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union (CHEU), began on Monday 9 November and will continue at hospitals and medical centres through Friday.
Union members say they are seeking improved staffing levels and safety measures, protections for nurses and patients from untested artificial intelligence systems, and contractual provisions aimed at recruiting and retaining nursing staff.
The unions said Sutter nurses had been negotiating with the health system since early August, with little progress on what they described as key issues. Nurses notified the employer on 29 October that they intended to hold the pickets.
Jessica Fernandez, an intensive care nurse at Sutter Delta Medical Center, accused management of failing to respond meaningfully to proposals put forward during negotiations.
“After three months at the table with Sutter, and dozens of proposals presented, it is clear that management is not taking us seriously,” she said in a statement issued by the unions.
Sutter Health workers to picket across Northern California
The scheduled action covers facilities in Castro Valley, Roseville, Antioch, Oakland, Novato, Tracy and Santa Rosa, as well as sites in Burlingame, Sacramento, Vallejo, San Francisco, Lakeport and Crescent City.
The first pickets were planned at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley and Sutter Roseville Medical Center. Further demonstrations are scheduled at Sutter facilities on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, including the Sutter Center for Psychiatry in Sacramento and the California Pacific Medical Center’s Davies campus in San Francisco.
Richelle Mas, a telemetry nurse at Mills Peninsula Medical Center, said the action was intended to press Sutter to prioritise staffing and patient care in the contract talks.
The CNA said it represents more than 10,000 nurses and healthcare workers across Sutter hospitals in Northern California.
