California and Minnesota RNs issue one-day strike notices over patient care issues

As many as 25,000 registered nurses from California and Minnesota have issued one-day strike notices Friday morning over patient care issues in contract negotiations at their facilities, the California Nurses Association and Minnesota Nurses Association announced today. All the nurses are members of National Nurses United, the nation's largest professional association and union for RNs.

In both California and Minnesota the key sticking point is safe nurse to patient staffing. Short staffing has become hospital industry standard across the country. This has left serious patient care issues unaddressed. Nurses are demanding safe RN-to-patient ratios at all times, including during nurse meal and rest breaks. 

The nurses are seeking to establish nurse-to-patient ratios through collective bargaining in states such as Minnesota, where ratios are not currently law. A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has demonstrated that thousand of lives could be saved annually by improving nurse-to-patient ratios.

In California, where hospitals must follow minimum nurse-to-patient specific ratios under state law, the nurses are seeking to strengthen enforcement of the ratios and guard against politicians and the industry who seek to roll them back. Nurses also want to protect other patient safeguards including guarantees that nurses – who typically work 12-hour days - receive rest and meal breaks during their shifts.

Secondarily, the RNs are fighting to protect their retirement, which is a key factor in recruitment and retention of experienced nurses.    

The California nurses come from five University of California Medical Centers—San Diego, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Davis—as well as four other facilities: Citrus Valley Medical Center (Covina), San Pedro Hospital (San Pedro), Marina del Rey Medical Center (Los Angeles) and Olympia Medical Center (Los Angeles). The 12,000 Minnesota RNs come from six hospitals that are a part of the Twin Cities hospital systems.