We met management at the bargaining table again Monday, our first session in the presence of a federal mediator. Typically, mediators speed up negotiations which have become stale, working to find compromise between the parties. But compromise is hard to find when one party is completely dug-in to their position, and not interested in progress, and not taking bargaining seriously. (Hint: it’s not our side!)

Though we’ve discussed what must be done over many sessions, Prime is still not moving towards what should be a mutual goal—ensuring that our hospital is safely staffed. We know that retention is key, and we have proposed a real wage scale to that end. Our proposal recognizes Nurses for their service, their experience, and the value that they bring to the hospital. Conversely management has proposed a static wage grid, with no movement throughout the years of the contract.

Given the crisis of unsafe staffing that is plaguing San Dimas Community Hospital, management should be fully invested in the process. Instead, they ended negotiations Monday offering nothing better than the status quo for years 2 & 3 (a 2.5% increase with no credit for additional experience). But the status quo is exactly what has produced the dysfunction you witness on a daily basis.

Management’s intransigence reveals how they really feel about the Nurses who put it all on the line to keep patients safe. They simply do not care about safe staffing, nor do they believe that Nurses will do anything about it. Now, we need to meet and strategize about what we can do to prove them wrong. Remember, Prime is not new at this—they know exactly what they’re doing, and they’re counting on you to blink first.