Nurse working 2 jobs joins picket line, says wages are not competitive

Patients arriving at Rady Children's Hospital were greeted by picketers asking for better pay and benefits.

It's the second day of the two-day strike involving nurses.

"We've been behind on our wages comparable to other facilities for a long time, which means we're also not keeping up with inflation if we were already behind before that. This has been a long time coming, and after COVID, we've never been so united," said Alex Seanez, a part-time nurse.

Alex Seanez is a part-time nurse at Rady Children's Hospital, but she wasn't always.

"I don't make six-figures," she explained.

• RELATED: Nurses' strike at Rady Children's Hospital enters final day

Before the pandemic, she was full-time.
She chose to go part-time when she noticed she was making more at her second job.

"Our careers as nurses are already exhausting and draining. You're on your feet 12 hours per day. You're helping families with probably some of the lowest parts of their lives, and you have to do that and pick up a second job. What's left for us to take care of ourselves?" she said.

She took up photography, and her side hustle took off once she started posting on Instagram.

"I'll never leave the bedside. I'll never leave nursing, because that's where my passion is, and photography allows me that outlet to supplement my income and help my family while also still connecting and capturing families," she said.

The United Nurses of Children's Hospitals Local 1699 is asking for a 30% pay increase over three years and better benefits.

Seanez said competitive pay and better benefits would make her consider going full-time again.

"We always hope for change. We wish it didn't have to come to this. We can't wait to go back and take care of our patients and their families," she said.

Seanez said that she wouldn't give up photography if she went back to full-time work, but she would cut back.

The strike is scheduled to end Wednesday morning, 48 hours after it began when the night shift clocked out on Monday.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Union turns down deal from Rady Children's Hospital, nurse strike moving forward
• Rady Children's Hospital nurses seeking 30% raise, plans to strike if no deal is made
• Rady Children's Hospital nurses to strike beginning July 22
• Nurses at Rady Children's Hospital vote to go on strike