National Nurses United

18 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 J U LY | A U G U S T | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 NEWS BRIEFS MARYLAND R egistered nurses at Ascension Saint Agnes in Baltimore, Md., voted overwhelmingly on Sept. 19 to ratify a three-year contract, winning their first-ever collective bargaining agreement in a watershed moment for nurses across Balti- more. RNs at the hospital are represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee/ National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU). "After our aggressive struggle, we are delighted to ratify the first union contract for private-sector nurses in Baltimore," said Robin Buckner, an intravenous therapy RN. "The contract provides much-needed pro- tections against unsafe floating, unfair discipline, and workplace violence. We won a grievance procedure, a pay scale, and much more. As nurses, we now have a voice to advocate for safe staffing so that our patients get the best care." Highlights of the contract include: • Safe staffing improvements, including an end to floating nurses to units outside their clinical competency, a professional practice committee, a staffing issues com- mittee, and an end to mandatory overtime. • Workplace violence prevention lan- guage, including the provision of security available to immediately assist nurses and protections against discipline for raising safety concerns. • Fair processes: A grievance procedure including the right to arbitration, just cause and progressive discipline standards, and the right to union representation. • Economic gains to help retain and recruit experienced nurses. The agreement includes a 5-6 percent pay increase over three years. Since unionizing in 2023, full- time and part-time Saint Agnes nurses have seen cumulative raises of up to 34 percent, thanks to union nurse advocacy. • No mass layoffs of per diem nurses, as originally proposed by Ascension. • Successorship protections that protect the contract in the event the hospital owner- ship changes. "Over the long road to secure this con- tract, we won a lot of victories, from equipment improvements to staffing improvements to raises, through organizing and putting pressure on the hospital," said Melissa LaRue, RN in the intensive care unit. "Now that we have a contract, we are empow- ered, ready to hold Ascension accountable to it, and ready to keep up the fight for a hospi- tal that puts patients over profits." The new pact covers the period September 2026 to September 2029. NNOC represents more than 600 nurses at Saint Agnes. Elsewhere in the Ascension system, col- leagues at two hospitals in Wichita, Kan., Ascension Via Christi St. Francis and Ascen- sion Via Christi St. Joseph, staged a one-day strike on July 6 to protest hospital manage- ment's refusal to address RNs' deep concerns about safety and workplace vio- lence during contract bargaining. Recent incidents include a grenade found on Easter, and on June 21, a tragic suicide by firearm discharged at the St. Joseph emergency department. —Staff report Ascension Saint Agnes nurses win first contract

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