Federal arbitrators Order SEIU Union 121RN Riverside Community Hospital will be required to pay $6.26 million in damages after a 10-day illegal strike during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic put the lives and health of patients at risk.
The union argued at the time that the strike, which the hospital condemned, was necessary to “sound the alarm” about what they considered unsafe working conditions.
Both the hospital and the arbitrator disagreed. At the time, the hospital argued that it did all it could to keep workers safe during the early days of the pandemic that put strain on the entire health care system, and the arbitrator agreed, ruling that the strike was a violation of the collective bargaining agreement. The damages were intended to cover the costs the hospital incurred to replace striking workers during the strike.
In a statement issued by the hospital’s parent company, the hospital said, “Our contract is clear and the union has recklessly ignored our members and the Riverside community by calling a strike. We applaud the arbitrator’s decision.”
The SEIU said it disagrees with the decision and plans to appeal. “Healthcare workers have made incredible sacrifices to keep our communities safe during the pandemic, including overcoming fear of retaliation for speaking the truth about what is going on inside our hospitals. Punishing them for doing so is an affront to the free speech rights of all workers.”
Notably, the arbitrator’s decision was silent on any penalties for speaking publicly about what was going on inside the hospital, but it did mention penalties for encouraging employees to refuse to come to work when they were contractually obligated to do so.
