HONOLULU — Ten people, including a recently elected state lawmaker, were arrested Monday outside Hawaii’s only women’s and children’s hospital, where hospital union members were locked out after going on a day-long strike during contract negotiations.
The detainees sat and blocked the driveway of the Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women & Children refused to leave Monday morning after officers issued warnings, Honolulu Police Department spokesperson Sarah Yoro said in an email.
More than 600 nurses have been locked out since they went on a one-day strike earlier this month. Since then, nurses and supporters have been demonstrating and holding signs outside the hospital, saying the hospital will continue to provide care with temporary staff.
The nurses want a safer relationship between nurses and patients, said Rosalee Agas-Yuu, president of the Hawaii Nurses Association. The contract expired last year.
Both sides met throughout the weekend and contract negotiations were expected to continue on Monday, Agas-Yuu said.
“All they want to do is get back to the bedside and take care of the patients,” she said of the nurses.
On Monday, protesters calling attention to the lockout sat at the hospital entrance as buses carrying the temporary nurses from out of state arrived, Agas-Yuu said. None of those arrested are active nurses, she said.
“We respect the right to peaceful protest, but no demonstration should negatively impact patient care,” hospital CEO Gidget Ruscetta said in a statement. “Access to our medical center must remain open to our community. We trust the Honolulu Police Department to take appropriate action.”
According to a police arrest log, Kim Coco Iwamotoa Democrat recently elected to represent part of Honolulu in the House of Representatives was among those arrested and charged with obstruction of justice.
Iwamoto, 56, said she plans to address nursing staffing issues in the state Legislature.
Ikaika Hussey, who recently won the Democratic primary for a state House seat, was also arrested. He and others were engaged in “classic civil disobedience,” he said after being released from a cell block.
He said his decision to participate came from thinking about the hospital’s founder, Queen Kapi’olani.
“She would be disappointed with the way her namesake has become something of an anti-worker,” he said.
This wasn’t the first arrest for Lori Treschuk, who said she’s been arrested at other protests for other reasons. But this one was extra personal for the 77-year-old retired nurse.
“I just feel so much for the nursing staff,” she said. “I know how stressful it is, even on a quote-unquote good day.”