Nurses at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey on 3-day strike over bargaining rights

MARINA DEL REY, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Registered nurses at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital are holding a three-day strike.

The strike began Sunday morning and will end Wednesday morning.

The nurses are protesting what they describe as Cedars-Sinai management's attempts to take away nurse's bargaining rights.

Cedars-Sinai Marina del Ray hospital has been negotiating with the California Nurses Association to secure a new agreement.

This is the second time the union is striking since negotiations began in February.

"Basically they want us to waive all our rights to bargain and negotiate over important benefits that affect our lives," said one union member. "Unfortunately they decided to propose takeaways and we feel really disrespected, our morale is low, and we're just hoping Cedars will come to the table with a fair contract for nurses."

Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital remains open and operational during the strike. The union represents about 250 registered nurses, the hospital says, and qualified supplemental nurses are being brought in to cover staffing gaps.

"We had hoped to avoid another strike with highly competitive contract offers that reward the skill, talent and dedication of our represented registered nurses while securing their long-term future as our hospital grows," the hospital said in a statement. "While we respect the right of our represented registered nurses to participate in a strike, we strongly believe these kinds of activities distract from important work that can be done only through constructive discussions at the bargaining table. We have already reached agreement on many mutually important topics."

"Our goals remain clear and firm: We are dedicated to the safety and wellbeing of our employees, patients and the community. They deserve no less."

The next bargaining session is scheduled for January.