A U.S. District Judge in Los Angeles Monday issued a federal injunction against Barstow (CA) Community Hospital ordering it to cease and desist its flagrant violations of the collective bargaining rights of its registered nurses.

Judge Christina Snyder issued the order in response to a complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board following charges by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU).  This is the second injunction ordered by this court in relation to BCH's labor violations against the nurses.

The 90 RNs at BCH voted in 2012 to affiliate with the California Nurses Association and have been seeking to negotiate a first contract with BCH to address numerous patient care issues, including chronic short-staffing. During this period, the turnover rate in RN staff has grown increasingly worse and is now approximately 50% annually, nurses say. 

Until recently, the hospital was owned by Community Health Systems (CHS), one of the largest for-profit hospital chains in the U.S. Earlier this year, CHS spun off BCH and 37 other hospitals into a new company called Quorum Health Corporation.

"When BCH nurses make proposals to end the turnover crisis at our hospital, we're advocating for our patients and this whole community and its sad that it takes a second federal injunction to force Quorum to simply respect our voice," said Jennifer Olguin, RN-ICU. "It seems clear to us that from the get-go management thought they could wait-out RNs. They thought that when nurses left, they could take advantage of the new ones. But new RNs keep stepping up to say you can't provide quality patient care with a revolving door of nurses. Bargain with us in good faith so we can retain nurses and give our patients the care they deserve."

The court further ordered that within 10 days of the order, BCH is to hold meetings at the hospital in which the order shall be read to the employees by a responsible management official. If the hospital does not comply with the injunction it faces serious penalties that could range from fines to criminal contempt findings.

Currently the National Labor Relations Board is also holding public hearings in multiple states as part of a trial, prosecuted by the NLRB's General Counsel, for multiple and repeated alleged labor violations at seven hospitals currently or formerly owned by CHS, including BHC. As part of the trial process, the NLRB's trial judge is holding public hearings near each of the hospitals where the violations allegedly occurred.

The public hearings on unfair labor practices at BHC in relationship to this case are scheduled for the week of November 14, and the week of December 12.