From
hospice
centers
to
emergency
rooms,
frontline
healthcare
workers
across
the
country
have
been
striking
this
month
to
protest
what
they
say
are
unsafe
patient
care
conditions
and
poor
bargaining
behavior.
Below
are
six
examples
of
union
activity
resulting
in
a
strike
—
all
of
which
occurred
in
July.
Ascension
Saint
Agnes
Hospital
(Baltimore,
Maryland)
Nurses
at
Ascension
Saint
Agnes
Hospital
in
Baltimore
are
planning
a
one-day
strike
on
July
24.
They
are
frustrated
by
ongoing
tensions
regarding
staffing
levels,
patient
safety
and
high
turnover.
This
marks
the
first
time
hospital
nurses
have
ever
gone
on
strike
in
Baltimore.
“We
are
striking
because
patients
cannot
get
the
best
care
due
to
hospital
management’s
staffing
decisions
that
have
led
to
a
staffing
crisis,”
Melissa
LaRue,
a
nurse
in
Ascension
Saint
Agnes’
intensive
care
unit,
said
in
a
statement.
“During
contract
negotiations,
we
have
put
forward
many
proposals
to
address
our
concerns
about
patient
safety
and
safe
staffing.
We
want
Ascension
to
come
to
the
bargaining
table
so
we
can
reach
an
agreement
that
puts
patients
first.”
Essentia
Health
(Northeast
Minnesota
and
Wisconsin)
Clinical
workers
at
outpatient
facilities
owned
by
Essentia
Health
ended
a
13-day
strike
on
Tuesday.
The
strike
involved
more
than
300
clinic
nurses
and
400
advanced
practice
providers.
These
workers
went
on
strike
to
protest
Essentia’s
failure
to
negotiate
first-ever
contracts
in
good
faith,
and
they
alleged
unlawful
interference
with
union
organizing.
The
strike
ended
after
these
employees
reached
an
agreement
with
Essentia
to
resume
collective
bargaining
under
improved
terms.
“For
too
long,
outpatient
care
has
been
treated
like
an
afterthought,”
Dana
Bukovich,
a
nurse
at
Essentia’s
Superior
Clinic,
said
in
a
statement.
“We’ve
made
it
clear
that
patients
in
clinics
deserve
the
same
safe
standards
as
patients
in
hospitals
—
and
we
won’t
stop
until
they
get
them.”
University
Medical
Center
New
Orleans
A
group
of
about
600
nurses
at
University
Medical
Center
New
Orleans,
which
is
owned
by
LCMC
Health,
went
on
a
two-day
strike
last
week.
The
strike
marks
the
hospital’s
fourth
in
less
than
a
year.
The
nurses
allege
that
the
hospital
has
been
disciplining
and
firing
experienced
nurses
who
are
prominent
union
organizers,
as
retaliation
for
their
union
advocacy.
“Singling
out
pro-union
nurses
shows
that
LCMC
is
using
discipline
to
retaliate
against
us,”
said
Dana
Judkins,
a
nurse
in
the
hospital’s
trauma
intensive
care
unit,
in
a
statement.
“We’re
striking
to
let
them
know
we
won’t
tolerate
retribution
for
advocating
for
ourselves
and
our
patients.”
HealthPartners
Clinic
(Stillwater,
Minnesota)
About
80
clinical
workers
at
HealthPartners
Clinic
Stillwater
went
on
a
four-day
unfair
labor
practice
strike
that
began
July
8.
These
workers
included
licensed
practical
nurses,
certified
medical
assistants
and
other
service-unit
healthcare
staff
members.
The
group
said
the
main
reason
for
the
strike
was
the
hospital’s
refusal
to
offer
meaningful
wage
increases.
“The
wages
the
employer
is
offering
us
are,
frankly,
insulting.
Even
for
our
highest
paid
members,
they’re
talking
about
increases
that
are
less
than
70
cents
per
year
in
their
most
recent
pass.
We
refuse
to
accept
that
this
is
the
best
HealthPartners
have
to
offer
us.
This
vote
solidifies
that
we
have
each
other’s
back
and
that
we
will
stand
together
and
demand
better.
If
we
don’t
get
what
we
deserve
from
the
employer,
we’re
ready
to
strike,”
Ellie
Hilton,
a
providers
assistant
at
the
clinic,
said
in
a
statement.
McLaren
Macomb
Hospital
(Mount
Clemens,
Michigan)
A
group
of
employees
at
McLaren
Macomb
Hospital
went
on
a
three-day
strike
that
began
on
July
7.
The
group
includes
about
500
nurses,
as
well
as
another
200
clinical
support
staff
members.
The
workers
cited
chronic
unsafe
staffing
levels
and
low
wages
as
their
reasons
for
the
strike,
along
with
allegations
that
management
was
bargaining
in
bad
faith.
Hospice
of
Petaluma
(Petaluma,
California)
and
Memorial
Hospice
(Santa
Rosa,
California)
Clinical
workers
at
Hospice
of
Petaluma
and
Memorial
Hospice,
both
owned
by
Providence,
went
on
a
two-day
strike
that
began
July
2.
The
group
included
more
than
100
people
—
mainly
nurses,
home
health
aides,
chaplains
and
social
workers.
The
workers’
main
concerns
centered
on
preserving
patient
caseload
limits
and
care
standards
amid
Providence’s
planned
joint
venture
with
private
equity–backed
Compassus
—
which
hospice
workers
fear
could
decrease
the
quality
of
the
end-of-life
care
they
provide.
“Providence
is
often
seeking
to
save
money
at
the
expense
of
patient
care
and
we’re
worried
that
our
services
will
be
greatly
reduced
under
a
new
private
equity
operator,
unless
we
can
enshrine
protections
in
our
union
contract,”
Tim
Johnson,
a
social
worker
at
Memorial
Hospice,
said
in
a
statement.