ST. LOUIS — SSM Health’s Saint Louis University Hospital nurses are preparing to strike next Wednesday unless an agreement is reached with SSM Health.
Union Steward Sarah DeWilde says it’s only been getting harder to keep going.
“We're losing our coworkers. And it's disheartening,” DeWilde said.
This leads them to a second strike that is scheduled to last two days from 7 a.m. Dec 27 to 6:59 a.m. Dec 29 unless a contract is reached.
“I think my patients deserve to be well taken care of. And I think I'm the one that does the best for them,” DeWilde said.
In a statement, SSM Health said in part, “We are deeply disappointed the National Nurses Organizing Committee has once again chosen to try and pull nurses away from the bedside to participate in a strike rather than complete discussions at the bargaining table.”
“National Nurses United didn't call a strike. The nurses did. And we don't want to go on strike. We want to get the contract done,” Dewilde said.
DeWilde says in contract negotiations they’ve signed off on some things like health benefits, however, the bigger issues still have a ways to go specifically when it comes to traveling nurses.
“We have got to quit outsourcing our stuff. We have got to maintain and keep the nurses that we have. So retention is another huge one. And recruitment. So whatever that means to get people in here,” DeWilde said.
She says safety is the next big issue which is twofold for them: having enough staff to care for the patients but also protections for the nurses at the bedside.
“They're worried that they're going to be belittled or yelled at or spit at or kicked every single day. You never know what's going to happen,” DeWilde said.
According to data from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Missouri has more than 38,000 registered nurses with active licenses who are not currently working as nurses.
SSM Health’s statement goes on to say, “Patient safety is our top priority … we will again have a comprehensive plan in place to ensure there is no disruption in care or service for the patients.”
“If patient safety was their top priority, they would have this done,” DeWilde said.
SSM Health’s full statement:
“As you know, SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital (SLU-H) has been in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement with the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC), the union representing registered nurses at SLU-H, since May 11. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to advance good faith discussions and reach a strong agreement for represented nurses, the union has continued to stall progress. NNOC already held a one-day strike at the hospital in September. Now, they’re calling for a 2-day work stoppage between Christmas and New Year’s. The NNOC has said it will strike from 7 am on Wednesday, Dec. 27 until 6:59 am on Friday, Dec. 29 if a contract agreement is not reached.
We are deeply disappointed the NNOC has once again chosen to try and pull nurses away from the bedside to participate in a strike rather than complete discussions at the bargaining table. On Oct. 26, the NNOC made its first new offer on wage scales in more than two months of negotiating. We welcomed NNOC’s engagement and quickly responded with another new offer hoping to jump-start the bargaining process. But NNOC has continued to stall – with frequent starts and stops over the past few weeks.
They abruptly canceled our Nov. 29 bargaining session and declined to meet from November 21 through Dec. 11, preferring to spend that time working on a strike vote (while excluding the more than 40% of SLU-H nurses who refuse to pay union dues from voting). We finally met again on Dec. 12 and 13 and were making solid progress for nurses. But unfortunately, NNOC leaders have now chose to halt progress again – preferring to focus their efforts on a strike rather than reaching a contract that would finally get our nurses the increases they deserve.
While NNOC continues using our hospital to advance its national political agenda, our SLU-H nurses are falling further behind market in compensation and benefits. We remain frustrated that SLU-H nurses must continue to wait for NNOC to engage in bargaining and get serious about reaching a contract, but we can’t do this alone. Negotiations can only progress when both sides are motivated and engaged. Calling for yet another work stoppage demonstrates clearly where NNOC’s priorities are – and sadly, it’s not taking care of our nurses or patients.
Patient safety is our top priority, and SLU-H is well-prepared to remain open and continue providing safe, high-quality care during any work stoppage event. Having maintained exceptional patient care during the strike in September, we will again have a comprehensive plan in place to ensure there is no disruption in care or service for the patients and community we are privileged to serve. In addition to extra clinical and operational support – we will have highly trained and experienced agency nurses in place, as appropriate. Many of these nurses also came to SLU-H in September.
SSM Health is incredibly fortunate to have such a talented, compassionate, and dedicated team of expert nurses and professionals who provide exceptional health care services every day. We remain committed to reaching an agreement that supports and benefits our valued SLU-H nurses with a robust market-competitive compensation and benefits package– while ensuring patients continue receiving the best care possible.
While NNOC strikes are intended to create tension and division within hospitals – we will continue to support our nurses, treat everyone with respect and stay focused on fostering a positive, supportive workplace where all team members can thrive. This includes significant ongoing investments to ensure competitive compensation and benefits, opportunities for career development and growth, and programs to support employee physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being.”