Lancaster Nurses End One-Day Strike

About 1,000 nurses at Antelope Valley Hospital on Thursday ended their 24-hour strike, which was the first of its kind in the hospital’s 61-year history. The California Nurses Association, the union representing the nurses in contract negotiations, said the strike was aimed to bring attention to certain concerns like safe staffing and retention of experienced nurses. “It is important to note that AVH already spends more on wages and benefits as a percentage of revenue than any other hospital in the area, and yet we believe that our nurses are worth every penny of this new proposal that also increases wages,” Chief Executive John Rossfeld said in a prepared statement. Rossfeld said that the Lancaster hospital has addressed the non-economic issues the nurses have brought to light and hopes to resolve the strike in a respectful way. Over the summer, Antelope Valley Hospital reached a three-year contract agreement with labor union Service Employees International Union, which represents about 1,100 of the hospital’s employees.