Sharp Healthcare Nurses Threaten to Strike
Union nurses at Sharp Healthcare are threatening to walk off the job next Monday. Their contract expired in June, and nurses say management has refused to meet their demands on a new labor agreement. KPBS Reporter Kenny Goldberg has more.
Nurses say the dispute is not about wages. Nurses say management won't allow them to have more of a say in patient care. Corinne Hollings has been a Sharp nurse for 25 years. She says Sharp also won't give nurses retirement health benefits.
Hollings: And Sharp claims to be the leader and the place where everybody wants to work. But in fact, they're not a leader, they're not even competitive.
Sharp vice president Ky Lewis disagrees.
Lewis: I think anybody who looks at a 16 percent wage increase, can't say anything but that is a very fair and competitive wage.
Contract talks have broken off. Union officials say they aren't sure how many of Sharp's 3,400 nurses will walk out next week.
Kenny Goldberg, KPBS News.
