Many hospital employees joined the picket lines during their shift breaks. Along with nurses, they included support staff such as the hospital's service employees.
"I love Burbank and I love St. Joe's," Johnson said. "This isn't about me against St. Joe's; this is about me being passionate about where I work. And I believe that this place can give the best care to this community that it deserves. But in order to be able to do that, it also has to be the best place to work. And that's our goal — best place to work, best place to get care."
Demonstrators underscored their commitment to their patients and stressed the need for a fair contract to emerge from the negotiation process in order to continue that level of service.
"We have been providing a good quality of patient care — the best that we can provide — and that's something that is so valuable," said Everly Canaria, a Burbank resident and a registered nurse at the hospital.
Hospital officials released a statement saying that they recognized and respected the rights of hospital employees to express their opinions and are looking forward to reaching a mutually beneficial contract agreement. They would not disclose details of the negotiations or particular points of contention.
"We continue to bargain in good faith," medical center administrator Patrick Petre said in a written statement. "We are confident we will again reach an agreement with the bargaining units that is beneficial to all."
The previous three-year-old contract was the first labor agreement reached with the hospital's medical employees and bargaining groups after employees voted in 2002 to unionize, hospital spokesman Dan Boyle said.
"I know they came to an agreement on both sides and we hope the same thing will happen with this agreement," he said.
Demonstrations on Tuesday did not have any impact on patient care, he said.
CHRIS WIEBE covers City Hall and the courts. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at chris.wiebelatimes.com.
