In the face of stalled contract negotiations, the union for registered nurses at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Miller Children’s Hospital and the Women’s’ Hospital in Long Beach will hold an informational picket on Monday.
The California Nurses Association in a statement Friday said the union has been in negotiations since January for a new contract with “little to no movement on key issues.”
The nursing union said it is pushing for a contract that provides:
- Legally mandated safe staffing ratios at all times
- Competitive wages for better recruitment and retention of quality nurses
- A contract that maintains whistleblower protections and mandates that issues be corrected within a reasonable time period
The picket, which is meant to provide information to the public and is not a strike, will kick off at 7:30 a.m. Monday at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and 27th Street.
In December 2011, about 2,000 registered nurses at Long Beach Memorial and Miller Children’s went on strike for 24 hours as part of a larger strike at several hospitals in the state. Sticking points included increases for nurses’ out-of-pocket costs for health coverage and disputes over RN-to-patient staffing levels.
MemorialCare Health System executives contracted with replacement nurses during the period.