SLU Hospital nurses strike for second time in four months

Call out union busting, outsourcing, stalled contract talks

By TIM ROWDEN
Editor-in-Chief

St. Louis – In the rain and cold, nurses at SSM St. Louis University Hospital, represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU)  launched a two-day strike Wednesday, Dec. 27, outside the hospital on South Grand Boulevard.

The two-day walkout marked the second strike the union nurses have called in four months, calling out the hospital’s union-busting, unsafe staffing, outsourcing of jobs and stagnant wages as negotiations drag on.

“We have been bargaining for seven months, but management has been actively undermining negotiations, has committed unfair labor practices, and is engaging in union busting practices including outsourcing the work of union nurses,” said Danny Ritter, Midwest Coordinator for NNOC.

Nurses say SLUH is ignoring their concerns about unsafe staffing and dangerous working conditions. The deplorable conditions have led to an incredible turnover in staff which further compromises patient care.

“We condemn SSM for trying to break the union by encouraging nurses to leave the union instead of bargaining in good faith,” said Maddi O’Leary, an RN in the blood and marrow transplant clinic at SLUH.

“SSM seems to be dragging this process out and encouraging the decertification of our union. This is why we are striking. We want SSM to stop outsourcing nurse jobs and focus on recruiting and retaining nurses. We want a strong contract so we can give our patients the best care.”

Nurses have been in negotiations for a new contract with SSM since May 2023 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 Sept. 25.

The nurses are demanding management invest in nursing staff and agree to a contract that addresses nurse retention and stops the overutilization of external agency nurses.

SITUATION HAS GOTTEN WORSE
Jessica Tulk, an RN in the emergency room, has worked at SLUH for five years, both at the old hospital building and at the new building on South Grand. She says staffing and nurse-to-patient ratios have gotten worse since moving to the new building.

“Working at the old hospital we had a ratio of three-to-one – three patients to a nurse. At the new hospital we have a ratio of five-to-one, which may not sound like a lot, but we are a Level 1 stroke center, trauma center and heart attack center. We see some of the sickest and most injured people in the city.

“I think during the pandemic nurses were being called health care heroes, and they were really trying to encourage people to stay working in the hospitals doing the dangerous things. Now, the issues have kind of changed. During the pandemic, it was more focused on glorifying nurses and trying to encourage nurses to maintain. Now it’s become more obvious that they are more concerned with conserving pennies, conserving profits.

“One would think that they would want to retain staff,” Tulk said. “But really it’s become more obvious over the past couple of years that they’re more focused on getting brand new nurses into the hospital who may potentially not have the training and experience. It’s getting to the  point where they’re de-incentivizing people who have been here to stay.”

NOT BARGAINING IN GOOD FAITH
“This is strike is over union busting strategy and outsourcing of nurse jobs,” said Devan Dale, an RN in the medical intensive care unit (ICU). “We’ve been trying to get a contract for over six months now. Management hasn’t been bargaining in good faith.”

Kelli Allen, an RN in the cardiac step-down unit, said nurses want the hospital to commit to putting safer staffing levels in place and to focus on training and retaining nurses, instead of hiring nurses from temporary staffing agencies.

“We appreciate that (temporary workers) are there, we really do,” said Allen. “However, there’s tasks that they can’t perform.

“We are out here to show SSM we are serious about a strong contract that attracts and retains nurses, that this job we do has value. We won’t remain silent with their union-busting tactics outsourcing our jobs. People are better cared for when we have continuity of care at the bedside. Relationships with our physicians and fellow team members, nurses who know the policies and expectations of the job.

“We want a competitive contract that acknowledge the higher level of care delivered by nurses with  higher skill sets here at SLU Hospital, just compensation for the demanding job that nursing is, a package that attracts both new and seasoned nurses, that retains core staff. We hold ourselves to a high standard because we care about our patients. We wouldn’t be out here in this weather if we did not care. Patients deserve the best of care we can deliver.”

National Nurses Organizing Committee has represented nurses at St. Louis University Hospital since 2012.