This post was updated Oct. 1 at 1:41 a.m.
Around 40 nurses and community members rallied in front of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on Tuesday morning to demand that the UC agree to a new contract with safer staffing and working conditions.
Registered nurses, nurse practitioners and certified registered nurse anesthetists – who are a part of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United – began chanting, picketing and using noisemakers outside the hospital around 7 a.m. Around 7:50 a.m., security guards briefly blocked protesters from entering the hospital lobby, but then escorted them inside about a minute later, following a conversation with a nurse.
The contracts of nurses across the UC expire Oct. 31. Dianne Sposito, an RN at UCLA Health, said the UC is “not coming to the table prepared,” potentially due to the federal funding cuts. Sposito added that large gaps in ER coverage have led to a series of “close calls” with patients and longer wait times.
“If I don’t have the nurse and the doctor to take care of the patient, then they wait longer, they get sicker,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of problems with people getting sicker while they’re waiting. They need to be seen, and we need to have the staff.”
Heather Hansen, a spokesperson for the UC Office of the President, said in an emailed statement that the University shares CNA’s “focus on safe staffing, quality care and the recruitment and retention of experienced nurses.” She added in the statement that the UC has presented proposals that it believes addresses the CNA’s concerns while also maintaining the stability of the UC Health system amid “unprecedented financial pressures.”
“UC remains committed to bargaining in good faith and to continuing constructive dialogue with CNA to reach a fair, sustainable agreement,” Hansen said in the statement.
Kathrin Muellerchen, an inpatient and acute care registered nurse, said UCLA Health recently announced it will reduce its care partner staff, who are responsible for providing toileting and walking care to patients. She added that these cuts will lead to exhausted nurses who will work longer shifts with heightened physical demands.
“UCLA and the whole UC system as a public hospital is actually running more like a private sector, like hospital corporation, where they really prioritize the profits over patient care,” Muellerchen said, “So they try to cut our resources, they cut our staffing – they want us to do more with less.”
Around 70 RNs and float pool nurses – who work multiple units and address staffing shortfalls – also rallied outside the medical center in May 2024 to protest a new scheduling change that they alleged reduced job flexibility, leading to staffing shortages and lower-quality patient care.
[Related: Nurses protest Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center’s proposed schedule changes]
Sposito said she believes a new contract should increase nurse pay and staffing coverage and ensure appropriate patient care. She added that patients could support nurses by sharing their experiences and speaking to administrators.
The UC is also currently negotiating with other unions – including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, which represents over 37,000 service, patient care and skilled craft workers, and the University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America 9119, which represents over 18,000 researchers and technical workers.
Both unions led strikes multiple times across the UC last academic year, alleging that the University was engaging in “bad faith” bargaining. Contract negotiations between AFSCME Local 3299 and the UC began in January 2024, while UPTE-CWA 9119 began bargaining in June 2024.
[Related: UPTE-CWA 9119, AFSCME Local 3299 negotiations with UC remains ongoing]
John Alibutod, a nurse who works in the neurosurgery unit at the medical center, said the nurses’ new contract must contain conditions that allow nurses to provide quality care.
Yasmine Balatbat, an RN with UCLA Health, said participants included both nurses on their breaks and those who were not scheduled to work but drove out to join the protest. She added that she hopes the new contract will allow for adequate staffing.
“We want to be sure that we can provide the proper care and the proper time for everybody,” Balatbat said.
