University of California officials announced today (Sept. 2) that Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren E. McMaster has ordered the continuation of the injunction he placed on the California Nurses Association, the union representing UC nurses, which prevented a nursing strike at the university on July 21.

Under the court order, the CNA may not conduct a strike until the conclusion of impasse proceedings including fact-finding. The California Public Employment Relations Board appeared in court on Aug. 25 and recommended that the strike injunction be continued because the CNA had failed to bargain in good faith with the university.

"We are very pleased with the decision as it has always been our position that strikes are presumptively unlawful if they occur any time before the impasse procedures, which include mediation and fact-finding" said Howard Pripas, UC executive director of labor relations. "These types of union actions are disruptive to the bargaining process and unfair to our patients, nurses, and other employees."

PERB has also issued three complaints against the CNA in the last eight months for prior strike activity. One complaint was for the union's unlawful pre-impasse strike planned for July 21, which was halted by the court injunction. The two other complaints resulted from CNA's participation in an August 2002 strike at UC Berkeley by the UC clerical employee's union for violating the "no strikes" clause in their contract, and for participation in sympathy with an unlawful strike.

UC and the CNA held negotiations on Aug. 29-31 in Oakland, and jointly agreed to seek an impasse declaration from PERB and the appointment of a mediator to help facilitate an agreement.

For more information about the university's negotiations with CNA:
http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/employees/policies/labor_relations/index.html

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