Saint Louis University Hospital nurses to strike for patient safety St. Louis nurses to strike for two days to protest management’s outsourcing of RN jobs

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2023-12-26

St. Louis nurses to strike for two days to protest management’s outsourcing of RN jobs

Registered nurses at SSM Health Saint Louis University
Hospital in St. Louis, Mo., gave notice to their employer yesterday that they
will hold a strike for 48 hours from Dec. 27, 7 a.m., to Dec. 29, 6:59 a.m. due
to management’s persistent union-busting and outsourcing of RN jobs, announced
National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) today.<o:p></o:p>

This 10 days’ notice of the nurses strike follows a
strike authorization vote on Dec. 8 to authorize the nurse bargaining team to
call a strike, if management failed to resolve key RN issues in contract
negotiations. Nurses always give at least 10 days of advance notice to the
hospital to allow for alternative plans to be made for patient care.<o:p></o:p>

“Management has refused to seriously consider or
compromise on our proposals regarding SSM’s outsourcing of nurse jobs,” said
Jessica Tulk, RN in the emergency department. “We need to hire full-time union
staff nurses who are invested in the community and our patients.”<o:p></o:p>

"We have a staffing crisis, but a revolving door
of outsourced nurses is not the solution," said Earline Shepard, RN in the
cardiac catheterization lab at SLUH. "We are taking time away from our
patients to assist temporary agency nurses. Staff nurses can give our patients
the continuity of care they need in their medical treatment."<o:p></o:p>

SLU Hospital nurses have been in negotiations since
May 2023 for a new contract with little to no movement on key issues. Their
contract expired on June 15, 2023. The RNs held an informational picket about
the issues on July 19 and a one-day strike on September 25. The nurses urge
management to invest in nursing staff and agree to a contract that addresses
nurse retention and stops the overutilization of external agency nurses.<o:p></o:p>

National Nurses Organizing Committee has represented
nurses at Saint Louis University Hospital since 2012.<o:p></o:p>

National Nurses Organizing Committee is an affiliate
of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing union and
professional association of registered nurses in the United States with nearly
225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates also include California Nurses
Association, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota
Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.<o:p></o:p>

<a href="mailto:press@nationalnursesunited.org">press@nationalnursesunited.org</a><o:p></o:p>