Los Robles Nurses Urge Higher Pay to Fill 60 Jobs

THOUSAND OAKS —  Threatening to strike if their salary demands are not met, nurses at Los Robles Regional Medical Center said Friday that higher pay is needed to help fill 60 vacant positions.

The vacancies have placed increasingly heavy demands on the hospital’s 383 registered nurses, union leaders said. But higher pay in other counties keeps qualified nurses from applying here, they said.

“Nurses are willing to drive to the [San Fernando Valley] where they can get paid better, and I don’t blame them,” said Lesley Whitehouse, president of Local 535 of the American Federation of Nurses. The union voted this week 208 to 44 to authorize a strike if the dispute cannot be resolved.

Los Robles spokeswoman Kris Carraway-Bowman said there are 60 nursing vacancies the hospital wants to fill, including 29 full-time positions.

But the empty slots have more to do with a nursing shortage than pay, Carraway-Bowman said.

“There just aren’t enough nurses to go around. This is a problem bigger than Conejo Valley,” Carraway-Bowman said. “Even if you paid a million dollars a day, you’re not going to fill those spots if there aren’t any nurses.”

Carraway-Bowman also said nursing vacancies should not be equated with diminished care for patients.

“Half of those vacancies are per deim and part-time work and they are all spread over 24 hours of shifts a day,” Carraway-Bowman said. “It is unfair and misleading for the union to imply that normal hiring activities create patient care concerns.”

Contract negotiations will resume Wednesday, and Whitehouse said she hopes for a settlement. Although there is no set date for a strike, it is important that option be available, union officials said.

“At least now we have a tool to use if they don’t give us what we need,” Whitehouse said. “We figured this strike authorization is the only way to get anywhere.”

The union is asking for a 5% raise, contrasted with the 2% offered by the hospital.

Carraway-Bowman said the hospital has not received any official notice from the union about a strike, and hopes a settlement can be reached.

“We do not want a strike. We’re willing to meet as often and as long as it takes to make a fair and competitive agreement,” Carraway-Bowman said. “Strikes do nothing but create unnecessary concerns for the patients and their families.”

Whitehouse said morale among nurses is low and that they would prefer to avoid a strike.

“We’re ready to strike, but I’d be happier to settle and have a contract that gives us what we need to do our jobs and get on with our lives,” Whitehouse said.