Cedars-Sinai Marina Del Rey Nurses Vote To Authorize Strike

Nurses at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital in Marina del Rey, Calif. voted 98 percent in favor of authorizing their nurse bargaining team to call a strike because the hospital has refused to address critical nurse recruitment and retention issues, which directly affect patient care, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU).

"We have lost many experienced nurses over the last year but Cedars-Sinai's administration is refusing to address the reasons for poor retention rates and their contribution to this problem," said Sophia Sabido, RN in case management in the emergency room at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital. "Instead, management resorts to staffing our hospital with temporary contract nurses, who often outnumber staff RNs. We know the best nursing care comes from permanent staff RNs who are fierce advocates for their patients and are committed to improving the hospital.

"We need a strong contract to recruit and retain experienced nurses who will stay at our hospital," said Sabido. "But after months of bargaining, Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital continues to propose contract takeaways. Unfortunately, this leaves nurses no choice but to proceed with a strike vote."

"There's a reason nurses are continuously ranked the most trusted profession," said Merrilee Marks, RN in the post-anesthesia care unit at Marina del Rey Hospital. "During the country's most recent pandemic, we rose to the occasion and ran to the front line risking our lives to save lives. Hospital administration called us heroes but now they refuse to invest in nurses.

"What's happening right now is a betrayal and makes it difficult to trust that Cedars-Sinai prioritizes the best interests of nurses and our patients."

The union nurses' contract expired on Feb. 28, of this year.

In March, Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital nurses held an informational picket and a rally to call attention to their concerns.

California Nurses Association represents more than 300 nurses at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital.