The president of the Hawaii Nurses Association said the union is considering Gov. Josh Green’s call for HNA and Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children to seek federal mediation to resolve the impasse that has kept some 600 registered nurses from returning to work for nearly two weeks.
On Tuesday, Green and state attorney general Anne Lopez transmitted a letter to both sides encouraging them to request the assistance of a federal mediator to “help break through barriers and guide both sides toward a fair agreement that serves our community and allows us to care for our sickest children.”
The letter also called on both parties to ensure that no services are interrupted at the hospital and that Kapiolani, which imposed a lockout on the nurses on Sept. 14, maintains the nurses’ health care coverage.
“Gov. Josh Green has decided to help put an end to the turmoil at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children,” Agas-Yuu said in a statement released Tuesday evening. “After weeks of calls and emails from nurses and others imploring his help, we’re glad he is taking heed to the cries from the parents of young patients and has been moved by the outrage in our community.”
The governor’s request followed news that a 4-year-old girl had died at the facility last week due in part, her parents said, to inadequate care and lack of access to nurses familiar with their daughter’s medical history, as well as the arrest of 10 demonstrators outside the hospital on Monday.
However, Rosalee Agas-Yuu said the initial response from Kapiolani CEO David Underriner to the governor’s request highlights what she characterizes as the hospital’s continued disrespect for its workers.
She noted that Underriner’s response to the governor “did not offer any assurance that the nurses represented by HNA would be able to immediately return to their jobs to avoid disruption of quality care for patients.”
She also took issue with Underriner’s statement that health care benefits would be extended past Sept. 30 only if the union negotiates in good faith with the help of a federal mediator and that it does not disrupt hospital services.
“Weaponizing access to affordable health care and (threatening) to take away the health plan for the nurses and their families are examples of the tactics Kapiolani deploys to force its employees to agree to their terms,” she said. “We’ve become more adept at reading between the lines and refuse to be disrespected anymore.”
Agas-Yuu said the union will consider the Green’s request and “develop our response.”
Prior to the lockout, the nurses had been working at Kapiolani without a contract since last November. They staged a one-week strike in January and another one-day strike on Sept. 13.
Lopez has previously stated that Green does not have the legal authority to directly intervene in the standoff, but could help mediate if both parties formally request his help.
The governor said state resources, including conference rooms, could be used as neutral spaces for negotiations.
Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.