Children's Hospital Medical Center of Northern California, D/B/A Children's Hospital of Oakland v. California Nurses Association

The California Nurses Association gave notice to the Children’s Hospital of Oakland in August, 1998, that it intended to conduct a 24-hour sympathy strike at the hospital to show support for other workers who were planning to engage in a primary strike. The hospital then filed this action, seeking a declaration that sympathy strikes are barred by the no-strike provision in the collective bargaining agreement, and seeking damages for the expenses incurred in strike preparation. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the union, and the hospital appeals. The appeal raises the question whether a general no-strike clause in a collective bargaining agreement bars sympathy strikes.

I. Background

The California Nurses Association (CNA) represents all of the approximately 650 nurses who work at Children’s Hospital of Oakland (CHO). In the summer of 1998, Local 6 of the International Long-shore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which represents the CHO’s x-ray technologists, was engaged in contract negotiations with the hospital. Local 6 established a strike deadline of August 31, and soon thereafter, pursuant to section 8(g) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 29…