6,500 Nurses to Go Out on Strike 09/20/19 in Four States
Nurses across the country have been demanding safer working conditions and better nurse-patient ratios. Today thousands of nurses are putting actions to their demands by walking out of their hospitals today in a 4-state strike.
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Registered nurses across the US will hold a one-day strike of their own demanding higher wages and better working conditions.
Over 6,500 registered nurses in hospitals in California, Arizona, Florida, and Illinois will strike on September 20 demanding higher wages and better working conditions. The strike will mark the first-ever nurse strike in Arizona, and the first hospital registered nurse strike in Florida's history.
Nurses who are part of the National Nurses United union are asking for better nurse retention and nurse-to-patient ratios. Most nurses who will be participating in the strike are employed with Tenet Healthcare, a multinational health-services company that operates 65 hospitals and 500 other healthcare facilities.
Nurses told Business Insider they have been negotiating with Tenet for a better contract for over a year and haven't received the concessions they demand. The union said that nurses have worked without a contract for two years in Arizona and under expired contracts for several months in California and Florida. Nurses also want lower nurse-patient ratios to improve the quality of patient care and prevent nurse burnout. Some hospitals are assigning twice the number of patients to nurses that research recommends.
2,200 University of Chicago Medical Center Nurses Walk Off the Job
Nurses working at the University of Chicago Medical Center plan to strike for five days in an effort to bring additional attention to their continuing struggle to get better nurse-patient ratios. About 2,200 nurses are expected to strike.
Wow, I'm in Illinois and had not heard this. Anyone participating? What's your facility's take on this?
CHICAGO (AP) — "Nurses at University of Chicago Medical Center are holding a one-day strike following what they call a breakdown of contract negotiations between their union and the hospital.
The walkout began Friday morning, with nurses marching and chanting outside the hospital.
The 618-bed hospital prepared for a walkout by the about 2,200 nurses by diverting ambulances and moving patients. Although the nurses say the strike will last one day, hospital officials have told the nurses to stay away until Wednesday because temporary nurses have been contracted.
The walkout began Friday morning, with nurses marching and chanting outside the hospital.
The 618-bed hospital prepared for a walkout by the about 2,200 nurses by diverting ambulances and moving patients. Although the nurses say the strike will last one day, hospital officials have told the nurses to stay away until Wednesday because temporary nurses have been contracted."
HIALEAH, Fla. (AP) — "Registered nurses staged a one-day strike against Tenet Health hospitals in Florida, California and Arizona on Friday, demanding better working conditions and higher wages as the nation's labor movement has begun flexing muscles weakened by decades of declining membership amid business and government attacks.
About 6,500 National Nurses United members walked out at 12 Tenet facilities after working toward a first contract for a year in Arizona and under expired contracts for months in California and Florida, the union said. They plan to resume working Saturday. Members also passed out leaflets in Texas, where contracts at two Tenet hospitals in El Paso expire later this year."
