Sutter officials must pay staff for lockout

The National Labor Relations Board has found that Sutter Roseville Medical Center must pay workers back wages interest after locking them out for four days in 2002. The ruling upholds the decision made by an administrative law judge in 2004. The NLRB finding will affect about 450 workers, each of whom should get an average of $444, for a total payout of about $200,000, according to The Sacramento Bee. Workers, including nurses and operating room techs, had staged a one-day walkout over staffing ratio issues, pay and benefits. After that day, workers were ready to return to their jobs but the hospital kept replacement workers on site for an additional four days. The strike had been backed by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers-West, which has worked to organize workers within Sutter Roseville parent Sutter Health for several years. The move has won praise from nursing organizations, which were extremely critical of the NLRB's recent decision broadening the definition of "supervisor" within health organizations.

For additional info on the dispute here:
- read this article in The Sacramento Bee
- check out the union's press release