By Doug Cunningham

Five thousand nurses represented by the California Nurses Association may be on strike October 10th and 11th. The nurses are facing proposed cuts in health benefits for active and retired nurses, as well as staff and service cuts. Another issue is a health survey that nurses would be forced to take from an outside company. They would have to submit to the survey and to “health coaching” from non-medical professionals or pay more for their health care. Fifteen northern California hospitals, most run by Sutter, would be affected. It would be the biggest nurses' strike in California since 1997’s Kaiser strike.