Nurses say one-day ULP strike is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 19

Registered nurses at Antelope Valley Medical Center (AVMC) in Lancaster, Calif., gave notice to their employer that they will hold a one-day unfair labor practice (ULP) strike on Nov. 19 after management’s failure to bargain in good faith, retaliation against nurses, and excessive delays during contract negotiations, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU). This notice comes after a nearly unanimous strike authorization vote in September. The nurses, who are members of CNA/NNU, give at least 10 days of advance notice to the hospital to allow for alternative plans to be made for patient care.

Since bargaining began in March, management has delayed negotiations, retaliated against nurses for speaking out at board meetings, and refused to make meaningful responses to nurses’ proposals on key issues, such as safe staffing and nurse retention. Their contract expired on May 25, 2024.

“We want the hospital to respect our rights, our voice, and our union,” said Linda Lummus, RN and nurse educator at AVMC, the only full-service, acute-care hospital in Antelope Valley. “We want safe staffing. We want management to come to the bargaining table and bargain in good faith about issues that affect patient care.” 

Who: Registered nurses at Antelope Valley Medical Center
What: One-day ULP strike for a fair contract
When: Tuesday, Nov. 19, 7 a.m. to Wednesday, Nov. 20, 6:59 a.m.
Where: Antelope Valley Medical Center, 1600 W. Ave. J, Lancaster, on the sidewalk

“We are striking because we want the hospital to stop the harassment of nurses who participate in union activities,” said Brandi Wechsberg, RN in the post-anesthesia care unit at AVMC, which serves more than 220,000 patients annually. “Management’s lack of response to our bargaining proposals and retaliation is a hindrance to our ability to recruit and retain nurses.”

Nurses say retention and chronic short-staffing throughout the hospital is another key issue. AVMC’s 28 percent nurse turnover rate is more than 50 percent higher than the national average RN turnover rate (18.4 percent). AVMC nurses have proposed measures to:

• Improve recruitment and retention of skilled and experienced nurses at AVMC.
• Maintain safe staffing practices to prevent nurses from being “floated” (temporarily reassigned) to units outside of their area of expertise.
• Prevent excessive standby and on-call shifts.

Nurses spoke out at the health care district’s board of directors meeting in July to demand safe staffing, held an informational picket for patient safety in June and rallied for patient safety in January. 

CNA/NNU represents over 900 nurses at Antelope Valley Hospital.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and nearly 225,000 RNs nationwide.