RNs set to protest county’s refusal to address patient safety concerns

Registered nurses across San Joaquin County will hold an informational picket at San Joaquin General Hospital in French Camp, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 19. They will protest management’s failure to meaningfully address their contract demands for improved patient safety and recruitment and retention of experienced nurses, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) today.

San Joaquin County nurses have been bargaining for a new contract since March. For the past eight months, nurses have proposed improvements to workplace violence prevention planning, safe staffing, and protections against the use of technology. During that period, the county has failed to address the working conditions that drive nurses away from the bedside. The previous contract expired on April 30, 2024.

“We have charge nurses, the nurses who oversee the flow of patients and nurse assignments, doing the work of two to three nurses, which means they are no longer available as a resource to other nurses in the unit," said Stacey Lo, RN in the Family Maternity Center. "We have nurses who cannot take meal and rest breaks during our 12-hour shifts because there are no dedicated break-relief nurses. This is unacceptable."

Who:  San Joaquin County Nurses
What: Informational picket for safe staffing and patient safety
When: Tuesday, Nov. 19, 6:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m.
Where: 400 W. Hospital Rd. French Camp, CA 95231

“Throughout negotiations, our goal has been to address the working conditions that affect the recruitment and retention of nurses,” said Kelly Mertz, RN in the trauma unit of San Joaquin General Hospital. "Unfortunately, the county’s most recent responses at the table fall short of addressing these issues. We are fighting to have dedicated break-relief nurses so we can take meal and rest breaks during our 12-hour shift.”

CNA represents more than 1,000 registered nurses across San Joaquin County, including public health and county jail nurses as well as RNs at San Joaquin General 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.