Registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA) with University of California, Davis (UC Davis), will hold a rally on Tuesday, Sept. 30, to protest the administration’s refusal to address nurses’ ongoing concerns about safe staffing and working conditions that jeopardize patient care, announced the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU).

University of California RNs have been negotiating for a new contract since early August with little to no movement on key patient safety issues.

“Nurses will always put patients first,” said Melissa Beebe, registered nurse at UC Davis and member of the bargaining team. “We prioritize safe staffing and we want to see nurses have a real voice in the policies that impact patient care. We want to create conditions that will help retain experienced RNs who are essential to high-quality patient care. As the nurses at the bedside, we have the experience and expertise to know what is best for our patients and our community.”

Who: Registered nurses at UC Davis
What: Rally for a strong contract
When: Tuesday, Sept. 30,  11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: UC Davis Medical Center, 4301 X Street, Sacramento, Calif.

Nurses at UCLA will also be holding a rally for a strong contract on Sept. 30.

The union nurses are demanding that management invest in nursing staff and agree to a contract that provides:

• Safe staffing that allows nurses to provide safe and quality care.
• Measures to improve the recruitment of new nurses while retaining experienced staff RNs.
• Maintenance of affordable health care for nurses and their families.

CNA represents nearly 25,000 registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and CRNAs at the University of California.

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 more than 225,000 RNs nationwide.