‘A crisis’: Sutter Well being staff authorize strike over staffing shortages

Staff for Sutter Well being are gearing up for a strike, with union officers citing “bad faith bargaining” by the nonprofit well being care supplier amid what they declare are widespread staffing shortages.

“We don’t want to go on strike, but we feel like we have to,” Nikki Moorer, of Sutter Solano, stated in a press release Friday. “We need management to stop bargaining in bad faith and listen to us to fix working conditions and short staffing. Procedures get canceled, and patients are sent home because there aren’t enough staff to properly stock the equipment we need. That’s not care. That’s a crisis.”

SEIU union staff at Oakland, Santa Rosa, Roseville, Berkeley, Lakeport, Vallejo, Antioch, Castro Valley, and San Francisco Sutter Well being services voted to authorize a strike, although a date has not but been set. The union expressed frustration with Sutter Well being administration over excessive worker turnover, staffing shortages and disturbing working situations.

SEIU represents nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, licensed vocational nurses, environmental providers, cooks, technicians, and extra at Sutter Well being.

The union additionally criticized CEO Warner Thomas, who they stated earned $11 million in 2023 “while refusing to invest in staffing and patient care.”

The well being care supplier pushed again towards among the union’s claims.

“Sutter Health has been bargaining in good faith with SEIU–UHW since July and we remain committed to reaching a fair and sustainable agreement,” Sutter Well being spokeswoman Lindsey Goodwin stated in a press release Saturday. “We look forward to being at the table next week to continue working toward a resolution that’s best for our employees, our patients and the communities we serve.”

Union officers stated they plan to satisfy with Sutter Well being in a bargaining session on both Oct. 9 or 10, although it’s unclear whether or not that assembly will stave off a possible strike motion.

Sutter Well being staff beforehand picketed in August and September at websites all through Northern California, together with on the Sutter Medical Heart in Sacramento.

Plans for Sutter Well being to construct a brand new $1 billion Emeryville campus had been met with public outcry from the union, which claims the brand new facility will have an effect on staff on the Alta Bates Ashby campuses in Oakland and Berkeley, “leading to a loss of services in the communities that need them most.”

In April 2022, 1000’s of Sutter Well being staff walked off the job for a day throughout ongoing contract negotiations, which was adopted by one other five-day strike in October 2022 by the California Nurses Affiliation and Nationwide Nurses United. Sutter Well being, in an try and preserve well being care features working, employed contract staff to fill in.

That very same yr, hundreds of thousands of plaintiffs filed a anti-trust class motion lawsuit in search of over $1 billion in damages that alleged Sutter Well being overcharged clients and corporations for well being care payments and discouraged shoppers from utilizing different lower-cost providers. The well being care big agreed earlier this yr to settle the case for $228.5 million.

Initially Printed: October 4, 2025 at 2:55 PM PDT