The union that represents more than 1,500 nurses at Rady Children's Hospital said union members are set to strike Monday after it rejected the hospital's final offer on Wednesday.
"After three more days of meeting with [Rady Children's Hospital] and a long 10 hour day of negotiations, we were unable to reach a new deal," the United Nurses of Children's Hospital (UNOCH) said in part of an email update. "The hospital presented UNOCH with their Last, Best and Final offer. While there were modest economic gains the hospital presented a takeaway in retirement that the negotiation team felt was unacceptable."
The hospital would not let the union vote on the increases unless it agreed to postpone the strike that is scheduled to start on Monday and last for 48 hours, according to UNOCH.
In a statement to NBC 7, Rady Children's Hospital said it's "deeply disappointed" that the negotiation team did not accept its latest offer.
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"The Hospital’s latest proposal was fair, equitable, very competitive and responsive to the union membership’s stated priorities. Unfortunately, the union-represented nurses were not given the opportunity to review and vote on approval," the hospital said, in part.
Rady Children's Hospital previously told NBC 7 that it plans to bring in quality replacement nurses with experience caring for children if a strike happens. The hospital told NBC 7 on Wednesday that those nurses will begin arriving in San Diego starting Thursday.
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After the union said 95% of its members voted to authorize a strike last week, nurses at the hospital gave their 10-day intent-to-strike notice.
The union says a lack of fair wages and adequate benefits led to the nurses having no choice but to go on strike and create conditions at the hospital that will lead to longer wait times, disrupted patient care and rescheduling of appointments and procedures.
"Rady Children's Hospital has forced our hand," Katie Langenstrass, executive director of UNOCH Teamsters Local 1699, said. "Our members are passionate about their work and their patients. However, the hospital's persistent undervaluation of their dedication and skill has left us no choice. Despite the hospital's total operating revenue increasing to $1.6 billion in 2023, they continue to refuse to compensate our members fairly. All while its nurses are working multiple jobs to make ends meet. It's just not right."
The two entities have been negotiating for months.
Rady Children's Hospital says its nurses are paid market rate and were recently offered raises. The union says hospitals report low wages, especially when compared to staff at other local hospitals. On top of that, rising health care costs are creating consistent staffing issues that have existed for years. The employee's share of medical premiums has increased by nearly 34% over the past five years.
"We have been behind on wages for years, and it's becoming impossible to retain talented nurses," Marie Wahl, a registered nurse at Rady Children's Hospital, said. "Many of our colleagues leave after just one to two years for better-paying positions at other hospitals. This constant turnover disrupts patient care and places an unfair burden on those of us who are left. This strike is about more than just wages. It's about patient care."
On July 9, both sides told NBC 7 that they have the same goals.
"We love the community that we serve, so our goal is to get a good contract," Langenstrass said.
"All we want to do is continue to take care of the kids in the excellent way that we always do," Chris Abe, Rady Children's Hospital vice president of operations, said.
