Dec 15, 2007 1:07 pm US/Pacific
Bay Area Sutter Health Nurses End Strike
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
Registered nurses ended their 48 hour walkout at 13 Bay Area hospitals operated by Sutter Health on Saturday morning, but many won't return to work until next week.
The California Nurses Association, which represents the nurses, says they're back at California Pacific Medical Center and St. Luke's, both in San Francisco, and at Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa.
But the workers won't fully return to the other 10 hospitals around the San Francisco Bay Area until Tuesday.
Managers at the not-for-profit hospitals say the delay is because hospitals needed to hire replacement workers for longer than just two days.
But union officials say this is a retaliatory measure against the nurses who went on strike.
Both sides say no agreement has been reached in contract negotiations that have been ongoing since spring.
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