DUARTE : Judge Curtails Picketing by Nurses at City of Hope

The City of Hope National Medical Center won a court order Friday to curtail picketing by striking nurses, who had been accused of using violent tactics in front of the hospital to press their demands.

Management at the hospital accused striking members of the California Nurses Assn. of pounding on vehicles used to shuttle staffers, turning back supply trucks and yelling at visitors, patients and non-striking employees.

Superior Court Judge Robert O’Brien’s order bars the striking nurses from coming within six feet of an entrance or exit to the hospital and the adjoining research institute. The strikers also are forbidden to threaten or assault any employees, patients or visitors.

The striking nurses, who make up most of the 430-member nursing staff at City of Hope, are protesting a plan to convert eight discretionary days off per year to sick leave, and management’s proposal to eliminate job descriptions from employee contracts.