HONOLULU (KHON2) — Hundreds of workers at Kapiolani Medical Center took to the picket lines Friday, demanding higher pay and better working conditions.
About 300 members of the Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996, including nurse aides, surgical assistants, maintenance staff, and other support workers, are on strike outside the hospital.
Union leaders say many employees are struggling to make ends meet despite working multiple jobs.
“Over here, most of our members, about 90 percent of them, usually work two to three jobs just to make a living,” said Kevin Holu, president of Teamsters Local 996. “They don’t get time to spend with their families or have any quality time.”
Hospital officials say negotiations with the union have been ongoing for months and that Kapiolani had already increased wages before the strike began.
“Today is payday, and those increases are in their paychecks,” said Gidget Ruscetta, chief operating officer at Kapiolani Medical Center. “They are getting pay increases that average over four percent, plus a bonus.”
Despite the strike, Ruscetta said the hospital remains fully operational.
“Our services are uninterrupted,” she said. “We are still providing excellent patient care in the medical center. We have surgeries going, clinics running, and we will be here for our community.”
Union leaders say they will continue the strike until a new contract agreement is reached.
The Kapiolani strike coincides with a separate walkout by Kaiser Permanente workers across Hawaii and several mainland states.
Healthcare employees at Kaiser clinics, including the Pensacola location, also picketed on Friday, supported by members of the Teamsters union.
“At the end of the day, here in Hawaii, we’ve got to protect our own, and that’s our people here,” Holu said. “We all stand together as one.”
Kaiser officials say their strike is expected to end at 7 a.m. Sunday, October 19. Some operations have been modified during the walkout, but full services are expected to resume next week when bargaining continues.