UMC nurses want contract terms ensuring workplace violence prevention, safe staffing

Registered nurses at University Medical Center (UMC) in New Orleans, Louisiana, will hold an informational picket on Tuesday, September 24, to push for progress in contract negotiations. Since bargaining began in March, UMC management has delayed negotiations, including postponing bargaining sessions and refusing to make meaningful responses to nurses’ proposals on key issues like workplace violence and safe staffing.

“Nurses are frustrated by UMC management’s inaction against the dangerous conditions we face every day,” said Shonda Franklin, RN in the float pool and bargaining team member. “Nurses are demanding a fair contract that includes solutions for workplace violence prevention and safe staffing. We need safe and sustainable conditions to provide the best care for our patients and the community we love.”

UMC nurses, who are members of National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), have proposed measures to prevent workplace violence and improve safe staffing. The nurses’ proposals include requiring UMC to produce a comprehensive workplace violence prevention program that is implemented at all times, in all units and work areas, and on all facility grounds, including parking structures; legal protections against retaliation for reporting unsafe conditions; and proposals that would improve recruitment and retention. So far, UMC has responded with proposals that maintain the flawed status quo.

What: UMC nurses informational picket and rally
When: Tuesday, September 24, 2:00 pm
Where: University Medical Center, 2000 Canal St., New Orleans, Louisiana, at the intersection of S. Galvez St. and Canal St.

This summer, UMC nurses held a speak-out in June and their first informational picket in July to highlight how workplace violence is negatively impacting staff morale and retention. More than 80 percent of nurses signed a letter calling for UMC to support victims and to support nurses in preventing these acts of violence from happening in the first place. Data has proven that unit-specific workplace violence prevention plans reduce violent incidents.

At July’s informational picket, Heidi Tujague, an emergency room RN, said, “Too often, we are short-staffed and without systems to respond to the threat of violence. Without the guarantees of a legally binding union contract, any promises made by UMC are meaningless.”

Health care workers are experiencing a surge in workplace violence rates nationally, which has been exacerbated by the health care industry’s actions during the Covid-19 pandemic. A nationwide survey conducted by NNU found that the majority of nurses have experienced workplace violence and nearly half have seen a rise in rates in the past year.

NNOC/NNU represents nearly 600 nurses at University Medical Center, including registered nurses (RNs) and nurse practitioners (NPs). In December 2023, UMC nurses made history after voting to join NNOC/NNU – becoming the first unionized private-sector hospital in the state of Louisiana and members of the largest union of registered nurses in the United States.

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.