National Nurses United

12 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G O C T O B E R | N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 NEWS BRIEFS KANSAS AND TEXAS N early 2,000 registered nurses in Texas and Kansas at three Ascen- sion hospitals—Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph Hospital and Ascension Via Christi St. Francis in Wichita and Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin (ASMCA)—held historic one-day strikes in June to protest management's resistance to bargain in good faith with RNs for union contracts that would help correct the endemic staffing crisis. Driven by their con- cerns about patient safety, the strikes were the largest nurses strikes in Texas and Kansas history. The strikes came after Ascension repeat- edly dismissed nurses' solutions for patient safety during contract negotiations, includ- ing their proposals to enforce safe staffing and improve nurse recruitment and reten- tion. Nurses refuse to accept the constant short staffing and the hospital's inability to recruit and retain qualified staff as a result of its bad practices. "Ascension management is shortchang- ing its nurses and its patients," Nichlous Whitehead, an RN in the surgery unit at St. Francis Hospital, said of the hospital chain, which does not pay federal taxes because of its nonprofit status. "While Ascension claims to provide 'spiritually-centered holistic care,' nurses' experiences reflect the reality of Ascen- sion's hypocrisy. Union nurses are striking to enforce, through safe staffing protections in our contracts, Ascension's own mission to 'sustain and improve the health of individuals and communities.'" In the past year, Ascension nurses have made history, creating some of the largest private-sector nurse unions in states with laws hostile to worker organizing. Driving the surge of unionization at Ascension is the blatant hypocrisy of the nonprofit, Catholic hospital chain—one of the nation's largest that has $19.5 billion in cash reserves, an investment arm that manages $41 billion, and a private equity operation worth $1 billion. "Nurses are patient advocates at the bedside and, when we need to be, on the strike line," said Carol Samsel, an RN in the intensive care unit at St. Joseph Hospi- tal. "Union nurses are ready to stand united against these conditions, which are driving away both veteran nurses, whom we need to ensure the highest standards of care, and new graduates, who are necessary for the sustainability of our profession." The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing shows that in Texas, Kansas, and across the country, there is no nurse "shortage." In fact, in Texas, there are nearly 128,000 registered nurses with active licenses who are choosing not to work at the bedside, while in Kansas—a much smaller state by population—that number is almost 20,000. Nationwide, there are more than a million registered nurses with active licenses who are choosing not to work at the bedside because of the hospital industry's unsafe working conditions. Nurses strike in December rns at the same three Ascension hospi- tals went on strike for 24 hours in December to protest unsafe conditions management has failed to remedy. The RNs are bargaining their first union contracts. Throughout bargaining, nurses have emphasized the importance of finding solutions for safe staffing and nurse recruit- ment and retention, which are critical factors for ensuring patient safety. In December, they held strikes to specifically call attention to: Equipment issues: At ASMCA, there is a lack of functional IV pumps, hospital gowns, blankets, and thermometers, as Ascension nurses strike in Austin and Wichita Nearly 2,000 RNs strike in June and December

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