California Labor Law Dispute over Nursing Levels

Sacramento, CA A California judge has forbade nurses from exercising their implied right to conduct a one-day strike, claiming that the protests would violate California labor law.

Nurses employed by the University of California (UC) are at odds with the university over staffing levels. The California Nurses' Association (CNA) had planned to stage a one-day strike over the issue. However, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Peter J. Busch cited California labor code to temporarily and then permanently establish a ruling that halts any such activity by the nurses and the CNA.

The union says it is undeterred by the ruling.

According to the 6/19/10 issue of the Sacramento Bee, Judge Busch issued a temporary restraining order on June 8, two days before a planned walkout at various hospitals run by UC. The restraining order was requested, according to the report, by the state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) on behalf of UC.

On June 18, the judge made that ruling "permanent," reports the Sacramento Bee. There was reasonable cause, argued the judge, for the PERB to believe a strike would violate California state labor laws.

The CNA is involved in contract talks with UC with regard to its employees at the five medical centers run by the university. One issue that has become particularly contentious is the union's assertion that staffing levels at the UC medical centers are unsafe.

The state mandates nurse-to-patient ratios of at least one nurse for every five patients, with more nurses for patients requiring higher levels of care.

The university denies the union's charge that staffing levels are unsafe.

The current contract between the university and the CNA expires on September 30. Judge Busch has outlawed any kind of a walkout or strike at least until that date.

Carol Robinson, the chief nursing officer for the UC Davis Medical Center, told the Sacramento Bee she is hopeful that the judge's ruling will convince the CNA to "sit down at the table so we can work out a really good contract for the nurses. We can do this in earnest instead of posturing."

But the CNA is undeterred, said Beth Keane, the CNA's lead negotiator for the union's university labor contracts. "We're going to continue fighting for proper staffing levels. We're not going to stop."

Keane noted that while the union intends to file complaints with the State Department of Public Health, a previous complaint filed by the union in November of last year over staffing levels at the UC Davis Medical Center has yet to be met with a response.

The CNA represents nearly 11,000 registered nurses employed by the university, including 1,800 at the UC Davis Medical Center. The employee labor law dispute appears poised to simmer through a long, hot California summer.