Thousands Of RN’s To Strike In California And Chicago Over Staffing, Patient Care

By Doug Cunningham

Thousands of nurses will strike hospitals in California and Chicago April 30 and May 1st. The RN’s with National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association say staffing and patient care concerns are at the heart of their strike. More than 6400 RN’s will strike, some on April 30th, others on May 1st. The nurses say they are demanding policies that “give RN’s a stronger voice in patient care delivery.” Strike locations include Kaiser Permanente’s Los Angeles Medical Center, Providence Health and Services Hospitals in Santa Monica and Torrance, California and five Sutter health facilities in Northern California. The nurses will also strike the University of Chicago Medical Center. The nurses planning to strike say patient safety and protections are compromised across the country as the corporate model of patient health care delivery relentlessly pushes for cuts to increase profits. Kaiser alone made a net profit of $4.3 billion last year. The nurses accuse Kaiser of engaging in an anti-union campaign to silence nurses advocating for patients. In Chicago staffing is also an issue, including what they say is the unsafe practice of rotating shifts for nurses.