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SACRAMENTO — The California Nurses Association staged a rally — but not a walkout — at the ºÙºÙÊÓƵ Medical Center on June 10.

About a dozen people in red T-shirts and holding CNA signs had gathered by 8 a.m. at the entrance to the parking lot in front of the medical center's main entrance, near the corner of Stockton Boulevard and X Street.

Picketers in the morning numbered about 20. A noon rally dfrew about 40 people.

The union, which represents about 10,800 UC nurses, had planned a one-day strike today at the university's hospitals and student health centers. United Press International reported that the CNA planned the walkout after contract negotiations broke down over a request for increased staff.

But, earlier in the week, at the request of the state's Public Employment Relations Board, a San Francisco judge issued a temporary restraining order to bar the job action.

In his ruling, Superior Court Judge Peter Busch declared that the strike might violate the CNA’s contract with the university and could endanger public safety. The judge scheduled a hearing for June 18 to give the CNA the opportunity to argue against a preliminary injunction, which would extend the temporary restraining order.

After Busch's ruling on June 8, UC Vice President Dwaine Duckett issued this statement:

"The California Nurses Association and its national leadership called for this strike as a tactical ploy in a campaign to increase membership rolls by building up staffing levels. This ruling is a victory for our dedicated nurses, most importantly, a victory for our patients. We are pleased that this attempt by CNA union leadership to leverage public health as a negotiations tactic has been stopped. Union leadership would do better to concentrate on reaching the equitable contract that our nurses so well deserve and that will best protect patients under our care.

"With contract negotiations between UC and CNA in their early stages, all provisions of the current 2009 contract — including the 'no strike' provision — remain in effect.

"UC had complained to PERB, the state labor board that oversees public sector collective bargaining, that the union’s planned June 10 strike was unlawful and violated that provision. The university also said CNA’s actions constituted bad faith bargaining and jeopardized the health and safety of patients. PERB concurred, and sought the temporary restraining order issued today.

"We value our nurses and pay competitive market-rate wages — a fact reflected in our current contract with CNA. Under terms of the 2009 contract, eligible registered nurses will receive a 2 percent step increase this July, as well as an additional 2 percent across-the-board salary increase in September. This is in an environment where most professionals are not getting increases at all.

"UC nurses are paid properly, and deservingly so. They have a tough job and they’re good at it. Patient safety also is not an issue, contrary to what the CNA leadership had been claiming in public. Staffing ratios are regulated by the state, and the university complies with the law.

"CNA threatened to strike in 2005, but was blocked from walking out by a court order on the grounds of public health and safety. PERB recently ruled that CNA’s 2005 strike threat constituted an unfair practice and ordered a hearing to determine the extent of the union's financial liability to UC for the costs it incurred in preparing for that strike.

"As was the case in 2005, UC has taken all necessary preparations to ensure that medical centers can deliver high-quality, seamless patient care in the event of a walk-out, at a cost of millions of dollars. Our primary concern is patient care."