Memorial Hospital nurses vote to authorize a strike.

In the midst of ongoing negotiations at Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, the nurses union has voted to authorize a strike.

Negotiations began in February on a California Nurses Association contract that originally expired in March, and has been extended repeatedly since. Most recently, the contract was extended indefinitely to allow negotiations to continue.

"Negotiations often take several months or longer, and we are hopeful that we can come to an agreement without the destructive dialogue or strikes we’ve seen in contract talks at other hospitals," SVMH Human Resources Director Michelle Childs wrote in an April 3 update on the negotiations process.

In the seven months since, the parties have continued negotiating, and nurses have protested in front of the hospital. According to CNA, in August, hospital management stopped accepting formal documentation from nurses objecting to unsafe conditions for patients, one of the reasons union members voted to authorize a strike.

"My nursing license requires that I speak up about patient care conditions in the hospital," RN Linda Sarratt said in a statement. "When management tries to stifle RNs' voices, dangerous conditions can persist in the workplace. That’s why this vote is absolutely necessary."

No strike date has been set, but CNA's vote allows for a strike. SVMH spokesperson Adrienne Laurent says SVMH management is disappointed with the vote, and that the hospital is committed to working toward a new contract.

"Strikes are expensive and divisive," Laurent writes by email. "At a time when hospitals face significant change and challenges, asking nurses to walk a picket line is the wrong approach to resolving differences at the bargaining table."

Citing dozens of CNA strikes at other hospitals across California, Laurent dismisses this vote as part of a larger union strategy: "CNA routinely calls strikes as a pressure tactic during contract negotiations and to support the union’s political agenda."