AUSTIN, Texas — It was a familiar scene outside Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin on Wednesday morning. For the second time in nearly six months, hundreds of nurses took to the sidewalks demanding change in the health care industry.
The National Nurses United Union says progress is being made at the negotiating table after June’s work stoppage, but not nearly enough to provide the quality of health care patients and professionals deserve.
“We out here protesting unsafe equipment issues that we’re continuing to have,” nurse Kristine Kittelson said. “We’ve made a lot of great progress since the last strike. But right now, Ascension is just going through the motions and not taking us seriously. We’re ready now to give the community what they deserve and what the nurses deserve as well.”
Like their previous demands during the negotiation of their first union contract, NNU is striking for similar measures, which include safer staffing practices, better equipment and improved recruiting and retention for a staff facing what the field is calling “moral injury”.
The strike is scheduled for one-day, but will be followed by a three-day lockout from their hospital, ASMCA. One nurse protesting says it’s a price they’re willing to pay to move the multi-billion-dollar health care provider they claim is dragging their feet.
“These are things that are easily fixable considering the finances that Ascension Seton has,” nurse Taylor Critendon said. “People are fed up, waiting for a second straight. We hope this will make them hear us.”
Spectrum News reached out to Ascension Seton multiple times for comment and was declined an on-camera interview. In a statement, the provider says they’re disappointed in the union’s actions but will continue to negotiate fairly at the bargaining table.
What progress comes out of this second strike remains to be seen, but nurses tell Spectrum News with momentum building, they won’t stop until their terms are met.