UC Nurses Plan to Strike Over Stalled Talks
Registered nurses at the University of California’s six hospitals announced late Wednesday that they will have a one-day strike May 29 to protest stalled negotiations, union officials said.
The daylong action, the first in the medical system’s history, could be followed by an open-ended strike if progress is not made in negotiations, California Nurses Assn. officials said.
“This is not where we wanted to be,” said Maxine Terk, a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at UCLA Medical Center in Westwood. “It is very disappointing.”
Union officials said the strike could be averted if negotiations with UC make progress.
UC officials had said earlier that a strike might force them to close trauma centers and transfer patients to prepare for a reduction in staff. They declined to discuss their options in detail Wednesday.
Union officials said that they plan to begin contacting county health directors to discuss how to deliver care to patients when UC nurses are on the picket lines. UC nurses also will be allowed to cross picket lines in the event of a patient emergency.
The nurses’ contract expired April 30. Negotiations on a new pact have been stalled on several key issues, particularly merit pay.
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