Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1545090
Jr. Day; organized a fun run between picket lines; picketed in front of greedy hospital executives' homes and busi- nesses, and engaged in civil disobedience. On Jan. 29, NNU and NYSNA Presi- dent Nancy Hagans, RN spoke at a vigil to honor Minnesota nurse Alex Pretti, RN, whom U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents killed. The action was co- coordinated with National Nurses United and labor allies at the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System. It drew more than 1,000 protesters, including dozens of striking NYSNA nurses, send- ing a strong message to keep Immigration and Customs Enforcement out of hospitals. While nurses waged a campaign out- side, we continued to fight for fair contracts at the bargaining table. Nurses at Montefiore, Mount Sinai, and Mount Sinai Morningside and West finally reached tentative agreements on Feb. 9 and returned to work on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14. Nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian reached a tentative agreement on Feb. 20, returning to work on Feb. 25, ending the historic strike after 41 days. Once again, NYSNA nurses worked in coordination to raise standards for every- one, winning contracts that achieve enforceable safe staffing standards with make-whole remedies in every hospital and increase the number of nurses to improve patient care at all hospitals; pro- tect their health benefits, with no additional costs to nurses; protect nurses from workplace violence; protect immi- grant and trans patients and nurses; safeguard against A.I. in all contracts for the first time; increase salaries by more than 12 percent over the life of the three- year contract to recruit and retain nurses for safe patient care; beat back aggressive takeaways on health care and safe staffing enforcement; and return all nurses to work after ratification. More Challenges Ahead although nurses returned to work holding their heads high, nurses must also continue to fight to ensure that hos- pitals put patients over profits. This contract campaign and strike showed us that it's possible. We showed the power of nurses. —Andrea Penman-Lomeli CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA R egistered nurses at three Prime Healthcare facilities held strikes during the same week in February. Nurses at West Anaheim Medical Center in Anaheim, Calif. held a three-day strike starting on Feb. 17, nurses at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nev., held a one-day strike on Feb. 18, and RNs and health care workers at Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding, Calif. held a one-day strike on Feb. 19. The nurses are members of California Nurses Associa- tion (CNA), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), and the health care workers are members of Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union (CHEU), an affiliate of CNA. The RNs and health care workers urged management to invest in nursing and health care staff and agree to a contract that provides safe staffing and a commitment to practices that recruit and retain workers. Shasta Regional staff have been in nego- tiations since August, Saint Mary's nurses since last summer, and West Anaheim RNs since February 2025. CNA/CHEU repre- sents 600 nurses and health care workers at Shasta Regional. NNOC/NNU represents 350 nurses at Saint Mary's. CNA represents more than 360 nurses at West Anaheim. "High turnover and short staffing have a negative effect on safe patient care," said Liz Rivera, RN in the West Anaheim intensive care unit. "We are striking because every patient deserves an experienced RN, not a nurse who's overwhelmed and covering too many patients." —Staff report A P R I L | M AY | J U N E 2 0 2 6 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 5 RNs and health care workers strike at three Prime hospitals