Care facility nurses go on 7-day strike amid ‘shameful’ wage dispute
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Nurses and nurses aides at Oahu Care Facility in McCully-Moiliili have announced a seven-day strike amid an ongoing wage dispute.
Care facility workers were seen picketing Wednesday morning along Beretania Street.
The union argues the care facility is negotiating in bad faith and offering below-market wages.
Nurses at the facility have been without a contract since February.
Hawaii Nurses Association President Daniel Ross said the union tried to avoid a strike.
“You can make more at McDonalds than the people that are taking care of your grandmother — it’s shameful. They ought to be ashamed of themselves for that,” Ross said.
“To our knowledge, no one pays lower than this facility — none of the ones we know of. They need to at least get up to the same range because when people apply and they see what the wage is, they leave.”
Other employees on strike said more needs to be done so they can do their work to help community members who rely on the facility.
“Our residents are more important right now. They are so very important, they really are our second family. We need to keep them in good shape,” said Certified Nursing Assistant Nancy Aloang.
In a statement to HNN, Oahu Care Facility says that their leadership team continues to negotiate in good faith and respects the right of their nursing staff to participate in the strike.
“We hope to resolve the concerns of our nursing team and reach an amicable agreement so that we may move forward together to focus and continue providing excellent care to the residents we serve,” Oahu Care Facility Nursing Home Administrator Olivia Kim said, in the statement.
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