Long Beach MemorialCare Nurses Announce Strike Over Patient Care Issues

Long Beach Medical Center Nurses Announce Strike Amid Contract Disputes

On May 8, registered nurses at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center (LBMC) in Long Beach, California, informed their employer of a planned one-day strike. The strike is set to commence at 7 a.m. on May 22, in response to the hospital's alleged refusal to negotiate in good faith over critical issues impacting patient care, working conditions, and staffing levels.

The nurses, represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU), have been engaged in contract negotiations since February 2025. Despite ongoing discussions, there has been minimal progress on essential matters, according to the nurses.

Key concerns raised by the nurses include prolonged emergency room wait times, incidents of workplace violence, and persistent staffing challenges at LBMC. Instead of addressing these issues through negotiations, the hospital reportedly announced service cuts and layoffs, subsequently cancelling a planned negotiation session with CNA on May 9.

“During negotiations at the beginning of May, the hospital announced the layoff of 78 registered nurses,” said Brandy Welch, a pediatrics RN. “This broke our hearts, because these nurses are critical to our Long Beach community. We expect our hospital leadership to share our commitment to quality patient care.”

Who: Registered nurses at Long Beach Medical Center
What: One-day strike for patient safety and nurses’ rights
When: Thursday, May 22, 7 a.m. to Friday, May 23, 6:59 a.m.
Where: Long Beach Medical Center, 2801 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach

The nurses accuse LBMC negotiators of engaging in unfair labor practices, impeding progress on proposals related to improving workplace safety, working conditions, and patient care. This has prompted the strike against the hospital's management practices.

“I am a member of the union bargaining team, and I am among the 78 nurses who received layoff notices,” said Amy Wolk, RN and a member of the bargaining team. “I am disappointed, but I am not demoralized. I am proud to be going on strike for my patients and my profession.”

Nurses are advocating for management to prioritize investment in nursing staff and agree to contract terms that focus on:

• Workplace violence protections
• Recruitment and retention of skilled nurses
• Improvements to working conditions and patient safety

“Nurses are ready and dedicated to continuing negotiations,” said Stephanie Jobe, RN in the neonatal intensive care unit at LBMC. “As all our actions up to this point suggest, we are fully committed to good faith bargaining. We have urgent patient care issues that need to be resolved, and the hospital is behaving as if our concerns for our patients aren’t a priority.”

California Nurses Association represents more than 2,100 nurses at Long Beach Medical Center.

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

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