USC Keck Medicine Nurses Begin Strike
Nurses at Keck Medicine of USC began a week-long strike on February 23. The labor action follows unresolved negotiations with the university concerning proposed changes to their healthcare plans. The strike may impact access and services on the USC Health Sciences Campus.
- The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) represents the approximately 1,800 nurses involved in the strike at Keck Hospital and Norris Cancer Center. - Negotiations for a new contract have been ongoing since May 2025. - A central issue in the dispute is the university's proposal to restructure employee healthcare plans, which nurses say would force them to use USC facilities, increase their out-of-pocket costs, and limit their choice of providers. - The union argues that forcing hundreds of nurses and their families into the USC healthcare network could overload the system, leading to longer wait times for both employees and patients. - This week-long strike follows a previous one-day strike held on October 30, 2025, which was organized to protest inadequate staffing levels that led to thousands of missed meal and rest breaks. - In November, a federal mediator helped broker a tentative agreement that included wage increases and a no-premium health plan, but the agreement was not ratified by the union members. - In addition to healthcare, the union's demands include improved staffing to ensure patient safety and better retention measures to reduce nurse turnover. - Keck Medicine of USC has stated that its hospitals will remain open and fully staffed during the strike, utilizing replacement nurses to maintain patient care.
