federal arbitrator has ordered SEIU Union 121RN to pay Riverside Community Hospital $6.26 million in damages after an illegal 10-day strike in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic threatened patients' lives and health.
The union claimed at the time that the strike, which was decried by the hospital, was necessary to "sound the alarm" about what they considered to be unsafe work conditions.
Both the hospital and the arbitrator disagreed. The hospital at the time claimed that it had done all it could to ensure worker safety during the strain the early days of the pandemic put on the entire healthcare system, and the arbitrator agreed, ruling that the strike was a violation of the collective bargaining agreement. The damage amount was intended to replace the money spent by the hospital to replace the workers who walked out during the strike.
In a statement release by the hospital's parent corporation, the hospital stated, "Our contract was clear, and the union showed reckless disregard for its members and the Riverside community by calling the strike. We applaud the arbitrator's decision."
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