National Nurses United

8 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G J U LY | A U G U S T | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 1 NEWS BRIEFS CALIFORNIA R egistered nurses at Keck Hos- pital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital in Los Angeles held a two- day strike July 13 and 14 to protest the administration's refusal to address RNs' deep concerns about unsafe staffing condi- tions. The nurses picketed and held a virtual rally during the strike. California Nurses Asso- ciation represents nearly 1,400 RNs at USC. In September, after a 10-month-long fight, including informational pickets and car caravans, USC nurses voted overwhelm- ingly in favor of ratifying a new four-year contract, winning protections to improve patient safety and nurse retention. Joshua Duarte, an intensive care unit (ICU) RN at Keck Hospital, said the nurses had decided to strike because "our patients' safety is jeopardized by chronic short staffing and the hospital's excessive reliance on outside contractors without the appro- priate skill mix to provide safe care." USC nurses had been in negotiations since November 2020 for a new contract with little to no movement on key issues. The RNs urged management to invest in nursing staff and agree to a contract that guarantees nurses with the appropriate skill mix will be given priority over outside con- tractors who have not developed the appropriate skill mix; provides perioperative nurses appropriate rest periods between shifts to prevent sleep-deprived nurses from caring for patients in the operating room; and provides rotation for nurses in infec- tious disease units to help address moral, physical, and emotional distress and to improve nurse retention. "Patients undergoing surgical procedures should do so with the comfort and support of well-rested nurses," said Richard Kibler, RN in the operating room at Keck Hospital of USC. "We're doing this to protect our patients, and USC's threats and lockouts aren't going to stop us from fighting to save lives." "Cancer patients need safe staffing and specialized care," said Michael Simonton, RN in the ICU at USC Norris Cancer Hospi- tal. "USC claims they have no problems hiring nurses, so I have to ask myself why our hospital is chronically short staffed." The nurses' perseverance paid off. "We are so pleased that after months of negotiations, we have ratified an agreement that provides substantial measures to ensure nurses have a stronger voice in providing safe patient care," said Kerri Dodgens, a registered nurse at Keck Hospital. "Notably, this contract establishes two new RN staffing committees, creates a new, joint novel disease committee to discuss best practices and policies concerning emerg- ing diseases, and includes numerous provisions that will improve recruitment and retention of experienced nurses." Contract highlights include agreement to hire 70 new RNs by the end of the year, to reduce the number of non-employee con- tract nurses by 40 percent by the end of the year, to improve resource coverage for smaller units, and to provide a resource nurse when five or more nurses are on duty. The agreement also includes new guarantees on personal protective equipment and expanded provisions on workplace violence prevention. The pact contains annual across- the-board and step increases, with RNs receiving pay increases of up to 27.7 percent over the life of the contract. The nurses will maintain a free full-family health plan for themselves and their covered family mem- bers. The contract maintains all the benefits of the previous contract with no takeaways. "When we began bargaining last Novem- ber, the hospitals presented us with numerous takeaways that would have led to a loss of experienced nurses and eroded patient care," said Valerie Hernandez, RN. "However, through collective action, including a two-day strike, and the tireless efforts of the nurses, we were able to win a contract with no takeaways that will help us limit turnover and improve the care we can offer our patients and the well-being of our community." —Chuleenan Svetvilas and Rachel Berger USC nurses hold two-day strike Los Angeles RNs ratify contract two months later

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