About 1,300 registered nurses at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center, the system's flagship hospital, began their four-day strike Thursday.
The nurses, represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, are demanding a new contract agreement that will increase wages and staff.
A union spokeswoman said the nurses have been negotiating a contract for one year. No bargaining sessions are currently scheduled.
Kaiser did not respond to a request for comment but issued a statement to the Los Angeles Times saying, “This strike is not about quality or adequate staffing levels. The quality of care our teams at Los Angeles Medical Center provide has never been higher.”
The nurses claim the hospital, particularly the pediatric intensive care unit, is inadequately staffed, forcing nurses to skip breaks and lunches.
The nurses say in the last year, they have reported more than 500 incidences to Kaiser executives of unsafe staffing levels with no improvements, according to a news release.
“This is dangerous for our patients and the profession of nurses. Kaiser made $1.9 billion in profits last year. When are they going to invest those dollars from the community back into the community?” said Sandra Hanke, a pediatric nurse at Kaiser Los Angeles for nine years.
The nurses at Kaiser Los Angeles also held a strike for seven days in March, again demanding competitive wages and increased staff.
Kaiser responded that it proposed competitive wages to the nurses in a bargaining session before the strike and that nursing staff ratios meet California guidelines.
NNU and the affiliated California Nurses Association won the right to unionize at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center in July 2015.
