Nonunion Nurse Injured at Hospital

As negotiations continued in an attempt to avert a nurses’ strike at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, a nonunion nurse was cut on the finger Tuesday by a hidden razor blade when she removed a union icon attached to her computer terminal, officials at the Oxnard hospital said.

The nurse, whom the hospital would not identify, was treated and received no stitches, officials said. She was cut when she pulled from her monitor a fuzzy ball that had SEIU, for Service Employees International Union, printed on it, officials said.

St. John’s reported the incident to Oxnard police, issued a safety alert to workers and set up a phone hotline so anonymous callers could pass along information.

“If I had been asked, ‘Could this have happened at St. John’s?’ until this morning I would have have answered it was unthinkable,” said hospital Administrator Charles Padilla in the memo to employees. “Do not ignore violent, threatening, harassing, intimidating or disruptive behavior.”

Representative of the nurses union said it was “ridiculous” for the hospital to suggest that the injury was caused by a union member, since such an act would reflect badly on the union as it seeks public support for its pending work action.

“That’s striking below the belt,” said union nurse Susan Franks.

Because negotiations failed to resolve key differences Tuesday, the two sides will meet again today to try to avoid the strike set for Dec. 14.

The hospital, which had said today’s session would be the last, consented to meet two or three more times next week before the Thursday strike deadline.

The sides have negotiated since March, meeting 37 times. A federal mediator has worked to settle the dispute, with each side accusing the other of bargaining in bad faith.