Hundreds of USC Keck nurses preparing to strike Thursday

Hundreds of unionized Keck Medicine of USC nurses will walk off the job and onto the picket lines Thursday amid contract talks.

The 1,800 registered nurses from facilities across Los Angeles County that are expected to participate include: Keck Hospital of USC, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, USC Arcadia Hospital and USC Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale.

“We are the frontline nurses of Keck Medicine of USC, caring for patients from across Los Angeles and beyond — your friends, your family, your neighbors, your loved ones, ” Jeong-A Cha, a Keck USC registered nurse, said in a statement.

“Every day and every night, we give our hearts, our skill, and our strength to heal our community,” Cha said. “But today, we are being asked to jeopardize the very lives we swore to protect. Keck USC nurses are working under unsafe staffing conditions that violate the most basic standards of patient care.”

The nurses are members of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United union, which said labor talks are ongoing but have not yielded results or adequate progress.

Keck Medicine officials said its facilities “will remain open and fully staffed with doctors, nurses and all other clinical professionals” during the strike, “as we continue our commitment to exceptional patient care and safety.”

“We pride ourselves in consistently upholding state-required nurse staffing ratios,” Keck officials said in a statement. “Importantly, our current contract proposal includes an increase in resource staff so nurses can more properly rest and recharge during their shifts.

“We remain committed to negotiating in good faith and look forward to collaborative discussions with CNA to reach agreements that are fair, provide competitive pay and benefits, and reflect our dedication and support of our staff.”