Nurses to Strike for Patient Safety and Fair Contracts in California

Nurses in Southern California Organize Strike Over Safety and Staffing Concerns

Registered nurses at three hospitals in Southern California, including MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital in Long Beach, and Alhambra Hospital Medical Center, have planned a strike on Thursday, May 22. The action aims to highlight issues related to patient care and staffing, as announced by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU).

The CNA represents nearly 200 nurses at Alhambra Medical Center and close to 2,200 at Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital. The Long Beach group is noted as the largest private sector bargaining unit in Southern California. The nurses, currently involved in contract negotiations, have informed hospital management to facilitate alternative patient care strategies.

Details of the Strike

What: Nurses strike at Long Beach Medical Center, Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital, and Alhambra Hospital Medical Center

When: Thursday, May 22, 7 a.m. through Friday, May 23, 6:59 a.m.

Media Availability & Interviews:

Long Beach Medical Center (2801 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, CA)

- Walkout and picket at 7 a.m.

- Rally at 12 p.m.

Alhambra Medical Center (100 S. Raymond Ave, Alhambra, CA)

- Walkout and picket at 7 a.m.

- Rally at 12 p.m.

Issues at Long Beach Medical Center

Nurses at Long Beach Medical Center report persistent problems like extended emergency room wait times, incidents of workplace violence, and staffing shortages. Despite these concerns, hospital management decided to cut services and lay off staff, canceling a negotiation session with CNA scheduled for May 9.

According to Brandy Welch, RN, “We are striking to stand up for ourselves and our patients who deserve safe staffing. In the emergency department, nurses don’t have time to take meal or rest breaks because we are so busy. Patients are sicker and that means they need more care. When we have a lot of very ill patients, we should be assigned fewer patients, but that is not happening.”

Stephanie Jobe, RN from Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital adds, “We want nurses to be assigned only to work in units where they have experience and expertise. Instead, some nurses are being floated to work in areas outside of their home unit, putting their license and patients at risk. We also want workplace violence protections so patients and staff will be safe. This is why we are striking.”

Alhambra Hospital Medical Center Concerns

At Alhambra Hospital Medical Center, nurses are advocating for the inclusion of resource nurses to support staff with tasks such as patient care, admissions, and training. These resource nurses, who are not assigned patients during their shifts, could alleviate the pressure caused by current staffing levels.

Farah Gerami, RN, from the education department, explains, “A staffing plan without resource nurses means that units are short-staffed before we even walk into our shifts. It’s an inappropriate standard of care and leaves nurses exhausted and unable to provide the care we believe our patients deserve. We are striking to ensure there is a resource nurse scheduled for our shifts, so that we can take a break to eat, use the bathroom, and have a breather.”

Further, the nurses are protesting the hospital’s refusal to allow union representatives access to the hospital floors, a measure deemed essential for enforcing contract conditions related to patient safety.

Jacky Reyna, RN from the medical-surgical unit questions, “If they’ve agreed to the conditions in our collective bargaining agreement, what are they hiding by refusing our representatives access? This is a commonsense and standard agreement between all hospital employers and health care unions and Alhambra Medical Center’s CEO doesn’t get to be the exception.”

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is noted as the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation, with over 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and over 225,000 RNs nationwide.

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