The 1,300 registered nurses, members of the California Nurses Association, work at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, the second largest private hospital in Los Angeles County. Earlier in October, despite an aggressive "no" vote campaign by the hospital bosses, the nurses voted 714 to 277 to approve calling a one-day strike.

The hospital administration responded by locking the nurses out. Long Beach Memorial is spending between $1 million and $2 million to hire replacement workers from the scab outfit U.S. Nursing Corp. Hospital officials have said that they plan to extend the lockout for four days.

When about 75 nurses marched into work after the strike, chanting "We Want to Work! We Want to Work," they were met by a phalanx of Premium Personnel security guards hired by the hospital. Camera crews were told to leave because they were not allowed on "private property."  
 
Nurse demand decent pension plan
Nurses on the picket lines say the main issue in the strike is a decent pension plan. The current plan is similar to many 401(k) plans. Called 403b, nurses can contribute between 2 percent and 12 percent of their income to a retirement fund, which includes more than a dozen funds to invest in. In turn, the hospital is supposed to contribute between 3 percent and 7 percent annually, but recently the hospital is only putting in 1 percent. One striking nurse called this plan "morally repugnant."

The nurses are demanding a defined benefit plan that provides guaranteed pension payments. "Right now nurses are losing bundles of money due to the stock market collapse. It’s really sad when you give 30 years to an institution and lose everything," said Mary Bailey, who has worked at the hospital for 15 years.

Nurses are also concerned about the "efficiency" drive, which is integral to the cost-cutting component of the hospital’s retirement program. "That shouldn’t play a part in patient care," said Bailey, who equated this provision to ambulance companies asking what insurance the patient carries. "I say I don’t do insurance, I do needle shots and tubes. I’m not in nursing to know if a patient pays cash or what their insurance is, it doesn’t matter to me... I take care of all the patients the same," she stated.

After several organizing efforts and union representation votes spanning two decades, according to one veteran nurse, the nurses voted in the union last November by a vote of 630 to 523. Shirley Harraldson, an RN (registered nurse) with 40 years experience, mostly in surgery, said that she was never big on unions. "I’ve never been for them until now," she said. "The hospital doesn’t care about patient care, all they care about is making money. They spent millions fighting the union." The week before the strike Harraldson had been suspended for "pushing" and "harassing" a replacement nurse.

Because of a national nursing shortage, nurses are forced to care for more and more patients to the point that many are quitting their jobs. The turnover rate at Long Beach Memorial is high. Some 47 percent of the nurses have been there less than five years.

"This is pushing and pushing and making people work harder. We have to put our foot down and say this is what it takes to take care of patients the right way," stated Margie Keenen. A letter from a nurse in the October 24 Long Beach Press-Telegram, noted that "nurses do not get lunches or breaks and are not paid for that time."

The lockout at the hospital is the latest example of increasing labor resistance at hospitals in southern California. The Health Care Workers Alliance is organizing the "ancillary" workers at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, which including cleaners, janitors, attendants, various technicians, and other health-care workers. Many of them walked the picket lines in a show of support.

In December 1,700 registered nurses at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the largest nonprofit hospital on the West Coast, will vote on whether to join the California Nurses Association. Providence St. Joseph Medical Center and Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center are both challenging union election results. Nurses voted at both institutions to join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) this year.

Nurses at Queens of Angels/Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, represented by the SEIU, held two strikes and a rally earlier this year. They won a contract in August.

A number of nurses at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center made parallels between the hospital lockout and the recent 10-day lockout by the Pacific Maritime Association against the dockworkers. They were especially glad to have members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), as well as many other unionists, coming out to support their fight. "It’s a shame Taft-Hartley is being used against the dockworkers," said nurse Deann McEwan. "Still, the ILWU remains strong and has always been a source of strength for us. Together we will stand together and fight for our rights."  
 
 
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