Police arrest 10 protesters during lockout in Kapi'olani

Tensions between the nurses' union and management of the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children reached a new level on Monday after police arrested 10 protesters outside the hospital.

What began as a peaceful demonstration with a prayer shortly after 6 a.m. ended that morning with the arrest of ten people for allegedly blocking a public passageway for buses carrying traveling nurses to work.

The Hawaii Nurses' Association and community activists said they wanted to highlight the injustice of Kapi'olani nurses being locked out despite wanting to return to work. Hospital officials said protesters on Monday prevented patients from receiving necessary treatment while talks were ongoing.

However, the two parties have agreed to continue talks today for the sixth consecutive day since the lockout began.

Among those summoned and arrested outside the hospital were recently elected state Rep. Kim Coco Iwamoto, Democratic candidate for state House of Representatives Ikaika Hussey and John Witeck of the Hawaii Workers Center.

In protest, they joined several others in linking arms and blocking the hospital's circular entrance from Bingham Street with charter buses full of traveling nurses.

Meanwhile, hundreds of nurses chanted “Scabs, go home!” and “No justice, no peace” as the charter buses eventually drove straight down Bingham Street instead of turning into the driveway.

Iwamoto said she stood in solidarity with HNA, which represents about 600 nurses, and drew attention to the indefinite lockout imposed by the hospital.

“We basically wanted to say, 'End the lockout,'” Iwamoto said. “We wanted to say, 'You have caregivers who are qualified, trained, culturally appropriate and have long-standing relationships with the community they serve. Please let them go back to work.'”

Iwamoto said she and the “Kapiolani 10,” as they are now called, were prepared to get themselves arrested Monday morning to draw attention to the nurses' plight.

“I hope the community will stand up and show solidarity with the nurses,” she said.

On September 13, HNA held a one-day strike, the second time this year that hundreds of unionized nurses walked out of work. Kapi'olani's lockout has been in effect since September 14.

Kapi'olani nurses have been working without a contract since December. Negotiations dragged on for more than a year but appear to have made progress. Monday's demonstration marked the fifth consecutive day since the lockout began of planned negotiations between the two parties.

Disturbing for patients

Gidget Ruscetta, Kapi'olani's chief operating officer, said during a press conference Monday afternoon that the incident was “disruptive and dangerous to our patients, staff and community.”

“HNA says nurses want to care for patients, but unfortunately their actions today demonstrated the opposite,” Ruscetta said in his opening remarks. “With the support of HNA, protesters blocked access to our medical center for more than two hours. The temporary nurses who are here to care for our patients were denied access to the campus for their shifts. The buses for the temporary nurses attempted to turn into the hospital twice, and both times were unsuccessful.”

As a result of this prolonged protest at the main entrance, two expectant mothers were forced to drive in separate cars from further away via the main exit to collect their babies, she said.

“We know of more than 25 patients who were delayed because they had difficulty getting to their appointments,” she said. “Others have rescheduled their appointments. The protest on the driveway also prevented a surgeon from entering. We know of several dozen vehicles that had to be rerouted to use the exit ramp to our campus.”

She said the temporary nurses finally made it to campus at 10 a.m. Monday to begin their day shift, about three hours later than scheduled. The temporary nurses on the night shift stayed until the rotation could be made.

Kapi'olani is still investigating the impact of the protest on planned surgeries, she said.

The Honolulu Police Department said officers issued warnings to several people blocking the entrance to Kapi'olani before issuing them tickets for obstructing public passage under Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 711-1105.

The 10 people who refused to leave the building were arrested and taken to the Alapai cell block, HPD said.

In a press release, HNA said community members met before normal business hours to minimize impact on patients.

When asked, Ruscetta said Kapi'olani did not call for the arrest of anyone.

“We would never want anyone to be arrested,” she said at the press conference. “We asked for help. We couldn't get the group to disband, so we asked for help.”

Civil disobedience

Hussey told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser he viewed the sit-in as a form of civil disobedience to draw attention to the injustice against Kapi'olani nurses, and he was ready to do it again.

“I think of the values ​​of Queen Kapi'olani and how she dedicated her life and resources to establishing this hospital,” he said. “I think the Queen would be very disappointed to see how her namesake institution has become anti-worker.”

Hussey said he and the others were handcuffed and taken to the main police station on South Beretania Street. He paid $50 bail and was released.

Kyle Kajihiro, chairman of the board of Hawaii Peace and Justice, said he wanted to speak out against the lockout, which he called an “anti-union tactic.”

“I think nurses are the frontline caregivers in our community, and if we don't take care of them, what does that say about our society?” he said. “That's why I was there, to show my appreciation for the nurses and what they do for us and to stand with them at a time when they are under attack. I think what is so clear is that the lockout is not just an attack on the nurses, but on all workers in Hawaii.”

Iwamoto, Hussey and Kajihiro were arrested Monday along with Witeck, a board member of the Hawaii Workers Center, and its executive director Sergio Alcubilla.

Others arrested include Cassandra Lynn Chee, Lori Treschuk, Nadezna Ortega, Yoko Liriano and Raymund Liongson, according to HNA. Liriano is listed by HNA as an industrial relations professional representing Queen's Medical Center.

Talks continue

Monday was the 10th day of the lockout imposed by Kapi'olani management. Kapi'olani has stated that the lockout will continue until HNA unconditionally accepts management's latest contract offer.

Nurses continue to say they are primarily fighting for safe staffing ratios, which limit the number of patients a nurse can care for at one time. If the number of patients exceeds that limit, additional nurses should be hired.

Better conditions not only lead to better treatment outcomes, but also to greater satisfaction among nursing staff and longer staff retention, it was said.

HNA has also stated that the strike earlier this month was an unfair labor action to protest retaliation against nurses who filled out safe staffing forms. Kapi'olani management has stated there was no retaliation.

HNA has filed a temporary restraining order with the National Labor Relations Board challenging the legality of the lockout, but a decision is pending, HNA President Rosalee Agas-Yuu said.

The two sides have made progress in recent days on a “staffing matrix” to determine staffing levels per patient, Ruscetta said, addressing nurses' concerns. But she said compensation for the new contract remained a point of contention as of Monday.

HNA and Kapi'olani were scheduled to resume talks at 10 a.m. on Monday. However, due to events on Monday morning, talks were postponed to 1:15 p.m. and continued until shortly after 7 p.m.

“Disruptions by the Hawaii Nurses' Association and protesters on Monday morning impacted patients and our scheduled negotiations,” Ruscetta said in a statement. “Nurse leaders on our negotiating team needed to prioritize patient care, so we postponed talks on Monday. After our negotiations resumed, discussions continued into the evening.”

Both sides agreed to meet again today, she said.