Striking nurses at a Delaware County hospital won't be returning to work Tuesday after a two-day walkout.
Around 500 nurses picketed outside the Crozer-Chester Medical Center Sunday and Monday. The Crozer-Chester Nurses Association first gave official notice of a walkout earlier in the month. The union represents nearly 600 nurses at Crozer-Chester Medical Center.
A spokesman for the Union told NBC10 they were told not to return to the hospital and "locked out until Friday." The Union claims they were informed that the hospital hired replacement nurses for five days rather than two. A spokesman for the Crozer-Key Health System called claims that the nurses were "locked out" false.
"We have informed PASNAP and nurses that the contingency staffing agreement - which we had no option but to enter into because of the Union's actions and threats - requires a guarantee of five days' work for nurses to temporarily cover positions vacated by strikers," the spokesman said in a released statement. "Once the Union or strikers have made an unconditional offer to return and the conditions are available, we will reinstate them. It is erroneous to call this a "lockout," and the Union knows this. The National Labor Relations Board has long held that an employer is not required to "pay double" for staff if an employer must hold over temporary replacements until the end of a work guarantee."
The nurses have been working without a new contract since June. Union leaders say they want improvements to the patient to nurse ratio as well as improvements to pay and retirement benefits.
"The primary sticking point is staffing," said Bobbi McClay, president of the union.
McClay tells NBC10 she's never seen so many patients assigned to one nurse in her 38-year career.
"In the maternity area there has been an incident where they've had nine patients and they're caring for an infant and the mother," McClay said. "In the ICU you're supposed to be two to one. In the recovery room there were two nurses that recovered 11 patients the other day."
The union also says members are concerned about safe staffing levels, citing anecdotes of patients waiting for hours to be transported to various units. Crozer officials say staffing levels rank above average and in many cases in the top third of hospitals.
Health system officials say they are concerned about the institution's financial health, citing a $32 loss during the last fiscal year due to declining reimbursements and patient volume.
In addition to the strike, the union also held a rally Monday night.
