“The nurses’ union at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center has called a 9-day strike from December 24 – January 2, its third strike of the year. The union is using patients as bargaining chips, just as the ‘tripledemic’ of flu, RSV and COVID is slamming hospitals across the region, by demanding an unsustainable wage increase of 40%.

Every other Sutter Health-affiliated hospital with California Nurses Association-represented members, 16 in total, approved their contracts weeks ago. Yet, the union at Alta Bates Summit continues to be the outlier, making unrealistic demands and not giving a counterproposal on wages during the last bargaining session. Even though the parties had agreed to another date for negotiations, the union made it clear its priority was voting to authorize a strike. This further illustrates how the nurses’ union at Alta Bates Summit is out of touch and not committed to finding reasonable solutions to bring these two-year negotiations to a close.

As a not-for-profit healthcare network, Sutter Health remains focused on continuing to provide our patients with safe, high-quality care and paying our employees competitively. We are making contingency plans so we can continue to serve our patients’ needs and safely manage the disruption that a prolonged strike over the holidays could cause.”

Additional background information:

Our current offer to Alta Bates Summit nurses includes:

• A minimum 22.4% pay increase over 4 years (average of 5.6% per year) in addition to any applicable step increases
• Continued employer-paid health coverage for nurses and their families
• Comprehensive workplace violence prevention plans/measures that reflect Alta Bates Summit’s longstanding commitment to protecting staff and patients
• Paid time for nurse participation in diversity, equity and inclusion council that promotes initiatives aimed at advancing equity and promoting diversity and inclusion in the Alta Bates Summit workforce

The union demand for a 40% wage increase is well beyond their peers. Just look at other recent contracts across the region:

• Kaiser Permanente ratified a contract earlier this month: 22.5% increase over four years
• Stanford Medicine nurses ratified a contract in May 2022: 17% increase over three years
• UCSF nurses ratified a contract in July 2022: 16% increase over three years
• Meanwhile, the local CNA bargaining unit at Alta Bates Summit is demanding a 40% increase or they will strike for 10 days over the holidays, in the midst of a surge in respiratory illnesses
• Sutter offers competitive nursing salaries: An average* annual salary of almost $170,000 (or more than $81/hour).**

* The average annual wage for California nurses in 2021 was $124,000 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
** Represents the average aggregate wages of part- and full-time CNA nurses.