SAN JOSE, Calif. — Stanford nurse Mark O’Neill could have quit his job caring for desperately ill COVID and cardiac patients, joining the exodus of other health care workers seeking a reprieve from the stress of the past two years.
Instead, on Monday he’ll walk a picket line.
“I’m exhausted, but we need to push really hard to get help for the issues we’re facing,” said O’Neill, one of 5,000 nurses slated to strike next week at prestigious Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital after the collapse of three months of labor negotiations, with no future bargaining sessions scheduled. “We’re asking Stanford for a change.”
