"Safe Staffing Now!": Baltimore Nurses at Largest Catholic Health Network in US Fight On for First Contract (w/ Nicki Horvat)

On the morning of Thursday, June 20, unionized nurses at Ascension St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore held a rally outside the hospital to raise awareness of their efforts to secure a first contract and to show management that they're not backing down from their core demands for safe staffing and an operational model that puts patients and patient care first. "St. Agnes nurses are calling on Ascension to accept their proposals to improve safe staffing and, subsequently, nurse retention," a press release from National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) stated. "Nearly 20 percent of nurses at St. Agnes began employment at the hospital after January 1 of this year. Meanwhile, just over a third of nurses have more than four years of experience at the hospital... The Catholic hospital system is one of the largest in the country with 140 hospitals in 19 states and also one of the wealthiest, with cash reserves, an investment company, and a private equity operation worth billions of dollars—and, because of its nonprofit status, is exempt from paying federal taxes." In this on-the-ground episode, we take you to the NNOC/NNU picket line and speak with Nicki Horvat, an RN in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit at Ascension St. Agnes and member of the bargaining team, about what she and her coworkers are fighting for.

Additional links/info below…

• National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United website, Facebook page, Twitter/X page, and Instagram

• NNOC/NNU Press Release: "Ascension Saint Agnes nurses demand hospital accept 'Patients First,' staffing enforcement policies"

• Angela Roberts, The Baltimore Sun, "Saint Agnes nurses rally for better pay, more patient protections"

• Gino Canella, The Real News Network, "An oral history of the 10-month St. Vincent Hospital strike"

• Gino Canella, The Real News Network, "Striking nurses hold the line against investor-owned healthcare giant"

• Robert Glatter, Peter Papadakos, & Yash Shah, Time Magazine, "American health care faces a staffing crisis and it's affecting care"

• Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "Kaiser workers win big after largest healthcare strike in US history"

Permanent links below...

• Working People Patreon page

• Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show!

• Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page

• In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page

• The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page

Featured Music...

• Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song