Union nurses at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children hit the picket lines this morning for a planned one-day strike as hospital management vows to lock them out unless they agree to the company’s last contract offer.

It is the second strike this year by the nurses, who have been working without a contract since December.

The Hawaii Nurses’ Association, which represents about 600 Kapi‘olani nurses, notified Kapi‘olani on Sept. 3 that it intended to hold a one-day strike, and hospital executives responded the next day by threatening to impose a lockout if the nurses walked off the job again. Management said all HNA-represented registered nurses with contracts that expired Nov. 30, 2023, would not be allowed to return to work until their offer was accepted.

Last-ditch negotiations on Thursday failed to yield an agreement, prompting HNA to proceed with the strike at 7 a.m. today. The two parties continue to disagree primarily over nurse-to-patient ratios and work conditions.

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“Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children know they are the only specialty hospital for women and children and play a crucial role in our state and the Pacific,” HNA President Rosalee Agas-Yuu said in a news release. “They know children and families count on their services, yet the hospital’s leaders have chosen to lock out the nurses for advocating for safe staffing standards to improve patient care.”

Kapi‘olani Chief Operating Officer Gidget Ruscetta said the union ended talks early, at 3 p.m. Thursday, even though its negotiation team was prepared to stay as long as possible to reach a deal to benefit the nurses.

“Unfortunately, after less than three hours, HNA ended negotiations for the day,” she said in an emailed statement Thursday. “We want to reassure everyone that Kapi‘olani has secured a highly skilled temporary workforce and will be fully staffed in order to provide uninterrupted care.”

Last week HNA filed an injunction with the National Labor Relations Board to stop the lockout, calling it an act of retaliation for the strike, but a decision by NLRB was pending.

In January, HNA nurses held a one-week strike against Kapi’olani more than a month after their contract expired.