Nurses said they can work for up to 12 hours without a break due to unsafe staffing. 

Press Release:

For: June 10, 2026

CONTACT: Shamezo Lumukanda (626) 491-2208

Photos and videos from the picket of the strike can be found here: drive.google.com/drive/folders/1v4h9i2NrwFsWK7NPu0GgEgBHnesqU46T

Early Wednesday morning nearly a hundred unionized nurses picketed in front of Garfield Medical Center in Monterey Park to pressure hospital management to work with their employees to solve unsafe staffing levels during ongoing contract negotiations. The nurses are represented in contract negotiations by SEIU 121RN.   

Nurses said they’re unable to take legally required meals and rest breaks, even during 12 or more hours of work, because the hospital is severely understaffed. Without breaks, nurses fear that fatigue and exhaustion are more likely to lead to accidents that endanger both nurses and their patients. 

“It’s not safe to work 12 hours without a break. When you’re in constant rush mode, your mind never gets to reset and that’s when mistakes happen,” said Andrew Nicoll, a registered nurse in the telemetry department at Garfield Medical Center, and a member of the union’s contract bargaining team. The picket, Nicoll said, is a way to alert the community about  unsafe staffing issues and inadequate and broken equipment issues at the hospital.. 

“During the [the COVID 19 pandemic], you were there to take care of our community, our patients, said Monterey Park Mayor Pro Tem and City Council Member Henry Lo. “More than ever we need to stand with our healthcare workers, because the Trump administration cut $10 billion in aid to California social services. Our community is scared about their access to health care services, and the least we can do as a local community is to support our nurses and let our communities know that they have their health care needs met,” Lo said. 

“And shame on you Garfield Medical!” Lo shouted, turning around to face the hospital. 

Monterey Park City Council Members Thomas Wong and Jose Sanchez also spoke at the picket. 

“My colleagues in Telemetry, in Med-Surg, in the ICU, they’re stretched to the breaking point. We need dedicated break relief, not a charge nurse doing double duty. Not a system that runs on penalties and fear,” said neonatal intensive care unit nurse Maria Elana 

Garfield Medical Center nurses went on an unfair labor practice strike for ten days during their previous contract negotiations in 2023. No strike has been called during the present negotiations.

The hospital doesn’t have enough support staff forcing individual nurses to do hands-on patient care that should be supported by a full team, nurses said. 

Nurses are also regularly “floated”—temporarily reassigned– to work in the Intensive Care Unit, without the highly specialized training required to care for critically ill patients who may rapidly decline, nurses said. 

Nurses said they have raised these concerns repeatedly throughout contract negotiations, but none have led to improvements in the hospital or progress at the bargaining table. Nurses fear that left unresolved; these problems will produce a downward spiral of dwindling staff and worsening patient care.

“What frustrates me most is this. The nurses at this hospital have been raising these concerns for years. About staffing. About patient safety. About the basic tools we need to do our jobs. And Garfield keeps ignoring us. They focus on the budget and expect us to figure out the rest,” said Labor and Delivery nurse Rosanna Kou.

While Nicholl was emceeing the lineup of speakers, another member shouted “computers, no working computers.” 

“No working computers, but electronic charting. Figure that out,” Nicoll responded. 

Computers in the hospital, and even the building’s air conditioning, are constantly breaking down, Nicoll said. 

The hospital is owned by AHMC Healthcare, Inc., a for-profit hospital system that operates in ten hospitals across California, including several in the Greater Los Angeles area. SEIU 121RN also represents nurses at other AHMC hospitals in the San Gabriel Valley, including Monterey Park and Greater El Monte Community Hospitals.

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SEIU Local 121RN represents registered nurses and other healthcare professionals in California.

This member-led organization is committed to supporting optimum working conditions that allow nurses to provide quality patient care and safety.