HONOLULU (KHON2) — It’s been two weeks since the hundreds of workers at Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women & Children went on strike and there is still no end in sight.
About 300 workers represented by Teamsters Local 966, ranging from cooks to maintenance workers to surgical technicians, all walked off the job on Oct. 17 and have continued to strike.
Today, they were joined at the picket line by the hospital’s nurses and respiratory therapists, who showed their support for their colleagues.
The strike began after healthcare workers accused the hospital’s management of bad faith and unfair labor practices.
Union leaders decided to strike after months of stalled negotiations and repeated rejections of proposals for fair pay and working conditions.
Sandy Chung with Teamsters Local 996 said they have “been at the table since May, and what the company’s offered is not what our people deserve” and most Kapi’olani workers are “living in poverty.”
“This is the Teamsters’ strike, and the union can end it. We have discussed with Teamsters multiple times that Kapi’olani is ready to head back to the bargaining table, but the union has not reached out for further negotiations,” Gidget Ruscetta, RN chief operating officer at Kapi’olani Medical Center, said.
Ruscetta added, “When Teamsters decided to strike, we needed to bring in a temporary workforce to ensure we continued our services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Kapi’olani continues to work as a team to address the needs of our patients, including noise issues from the picket line. We remain committed to reaching an agreement.”
Earlier this month, the Teamsters 996 lead negotiator, Jonathan Makue said, “It’s very disheartening to know the employer brought in staff to do our work instead of trying to negotiate a fair deal. Not once do I feel the employer has negotiated in good faith.”
Teamsters 996 says they will continue the strike for “as long as it takes” until hospital leadership agrees to a contract that supports both workers and patient care.