National Nurses United

CALIFORNIA N urses at University of Southern California Keck Hospital (USC Keck) and Norris Cancer Center (USC Norris) in Los Angeles, Calif. held a one-day strike on Oct. 30. Cali- fornia Nurses Association/National Nurses United represents 1,800 nurses at USC Keck and USC Norris facilities. The nurses have been in contract negotiations since May 2025. At USC Keck and Norris, nurses report that the lack of resource nurses at their facil- ities has resulted in more than 10,000 missed meal breaks and 4,000 missed rest breaks in 2024. As of July 2025, RNs have missed more than 4,600 meal breaks and over 2,200 rest breaks. "The break relief situation is currently very dire, with nurses working up to 10 hours without a break to use the restroom or drink water," said Rudy Cuellar, RN in the cardiothoracic ICU at USC Keck and mem- ber of the bargaining team. "Adequate staffing of resource nurses would correct this problem, but management has been unwilling to provide the adequate staffing of resource nurses. As a result, they are com- promising our ability to provide excellent patient care." Resource nurses provide support and assistance to other nurses on a unit, includ- ing patient care and admissions, discharges, and training. Because they are not assigned patients during their shift, resource nurses can help fill staffing gaps. A lack of resource nurses at USC Keck and Norris has left many nurses without the appropriate breaks to rest and refuel during their 12- hour shifts. "Staffing policies are stretching nurses too thin and shortchanging patients of the high-quality care they deserve," said Gina Vergara, RN in heart and lung transplant ICU at USC Keck and member of the bar- gaining team. "We know that USC Keck and Norris has the resources to provide all nurses with the staffing and the support we need to appropriately care for our patients. We're striking to demand patient safety, along with respect and fairness, which we haven't seen at the bargaining table." Nurses at both campuses are also fight- ing for increased rest between shifts, which will allow for higher quality patient care. "Our patients are our number-one prior- ity," said Vergara. "And in order to care for them safely, we must have the resources to do so." The nurses held informational pickets on July 24 and Nov. 25 to highlight their patient safety concerns, which include short-staffing, lack of break relief, and safe working conditions. —Michelle Morris USC nurses go on strike RNs report thousands of missed meal and rest breaks O C T O B E R | N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 5 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 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 9

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