1,800 nurses in Los Angeles give notice for Oct. 30 strike for patient safety. At Keck and Norris, nurses report thousands of missed meals and breaks.

Nurses at University of Southern California Keck Hospital (USC Keck) and Norris Cancer Center (USC Norris) in Los Angeles, Calif. gave notice to their employers that they will hold a strike for one day on Thursday, Oct. 30, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU).

CNA represents 1,800 nurses at USC Keck and USC Norris facilities. USC nurses are in contract negotiations and gave their respective hospital administrators notice to allow for alternative plans for patient care.

What: Registered nurses on strike for patient safety at USC Keck Hospital and USC Norris Cancer Center 

When: Thursday, Oct. 30, 7 a.m. to Friday, Oct. 31, 6:59 a.m.

               Walkout and picket at 7 a.m.

               Rally at 12 p.m. 

Where: USC Keck, 1500 San Pablo St., Los Angeles

At USC Keck and Norris, nurses report thousands of missed meals and breaks
The lack of resource nurses at USC Keck and USC Norris has resulted in more than 10,000 missed meal breaks and 4,000 missed rest breaks in 2024. As of July 2025, RNs have missed 4631 meal breaks and 2210 rest breaks.

“‘The break relief situation is currently very dire, with nurses working up to 10 hours without a break to use the restroom or drink water,” said Rudy Cuellar, RN in the Cardiothoracic ICU at USC Keck and member of the bargaining team. “Adequate staffing of resource nurses would correct this problem, but management has been unwilling to provide the adequate staffing of resource nurses that would correct this problem. As a result, they are compromising our ability to provide excellent patient care.”

Resource nurses provide support and assistance to other nurses on a unit, including patient care and admissions, discharges, and training. Because they are not assigned patients during their shift, resource nurses can help fill in staffing gaps. A lack of resource nurses at USC Keck and Norris has left many nurses without the appropriate breaks to rest and refuel during their 12-hour shifts.

“Staffing policies are stretching nurses too thin and shortchanging patients of the high-quality care they deserve,” said Gina Vergara, RN in heart and lung transplant ICU at USC Keck and member of the bargaining team. “We know that USC Keck and Norris has the resources to provide all nurses with the staffing and the support we need to appropriately care for our patients. We’re striking to demand patient safety, along with respect and fairness, which we haven’t seen at the bargaining table.”

Nurses at both campuses are also fighting for increased rest between shifts, which will allow for higher quality patient care.

USC Keck and Norris nurses have been in bargaining since May 2025. They held an informational picket on July 24 and voted to authorize a strike on August 22.

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.