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News Briefs 4 O C T O B E R 2 0 0 5 C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E A s of press time, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had vetoed SB 363, the nurse-friendly bill CNA sponsored that would have helped re- duce back injuries among RNs and other healthcare providers by requiring most urban hospitals to provide teams of people trained to lift and maneuver patients with proper equipment. Two other measures, AB 702, which would expand eligibility for nursing ed- ucator scholarships and loans, and SB 499, which would require hospitals shutting down emergency rooms or the entire hospital to disclose more infor- mation about the circumstances for closure, are also waiting for his ap- proval or veto by Oct. 8. This is the second year Schwarze- negger has vetoed a lift team bill, which was also opposed both times by the Uni- versity of California and the California Hospital Association. In his message ac- companying his veto, he claimed to sup- port the bill's goals, but called the measure an "inflexible mandate" as he did last year. He said hospitals should just voluntarily implement lift teams to "comply with the spirit of this measure." But nurses are not holding their breath. Research has long shown that lift teams would not only prevent back injuries but save hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost time, productivity, workers compensation costs—not to mention suffering by hurt RNs. Still, few hospitals besides those in the Kaiser Per- manente system are operating round- the-clock lift teams. —Staff report Bills Face Uphill Battle UC Bargaining Update A fter a Sacramento judge barred their planned July strike, Uni- versity of California nurse nego- tiators spent September in mediation proceedings with their employer to ei- ther bargain a fair contract or get an impasse declared so that they can pro- ceed with the strike many feel is still needed to pressure UC to take its RNs seriously. After mediation comes fact finding. "They always say they love their nurses, but they have never shown any respect for the hard work senior nurses have done for this institution," said Emmanuel Punzalan, an oncology RN and chief nurse rep at UCLA Medical Center, as well as a UC nurse negotia- tor. "They don't take us seriously. As a nurse negotiator, I can feel that at the bargaining table. Here at UCLA, we generally feel we must go out on strike to make our point, to let them know we are very much interested in protecting our patients and our profession." —Staff report