Seminole, FL – On the morning of January 29, around 20 union members and community supporters rallied outside of Representative Anna Paulina Luna’s office in Seminole, Florida. The Florida AFL-CIO organized the event to demand justice and accountability for Alex Pretti, a Veterans Administration nurse and American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union member who was murdered by Border Patrol in Minneapolis.

Carol White, the legislative political coordinator for AFGE Local 547, began the event by leading a moment of silence in honor of the memory of Alex Pretti. “AFGE calls for a full and transparent investigation into Alex’s killing, led by an independent third party. We also call for bipartisan Congressional oversight to uncover the truth, ensure accountability, and begin repairing the damage in public trust,” White shared.

The AFGE was joined by speakers from the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association (PCTA) and National Nurses United (NNU). Also in attendance were union members from the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA).

“Due process does not involve any government agency shooting people on the street who are practicing their civil rights,” said PCTA president Lee Bryant.

Standing outside Representative Luna’s office, the crowd chanted “Hey, Rep. Luna, read the room! Hey, Rep. Luna, shame on you!”

Serving Florida’s 13th Congressional District, Representative Luna has been a strong supporter of ICE and regularly stands in opposition to the movement for immigrants’ rights.

“I demand that Representative Luna use our tax dollars to fund healthcare and not ICE,” said Karena Jimenez, a registered nurse and member of National Nurses United.

The Tampa Bay Area isn’t slowing down anytime soon and will continue to demand justice for Alex Pretti and all victims of ICE violence this Friday night outside of the VA hospitals in Tampa and Saint Petersburg.

#SeminoleFL #FL #Labor #ImmigrantRights #AlexPretti #AFGE #NNU #APWU #AFACWA

New Orleans, LA – On November 11, dozens of nurses represented by National Nurses United held a picket line demanding retention, an end to merit-based raises, and good faith contract negotiations. This three-day strike marks the fifth since University Medical Center (UMC) nurses won their union in December 2023. The New Orleans Nurses United is the first private-sector healthcare workers union to form in Louisiana.

Picketing nurses yelled chants like “UMC, you’re no good, treat your nurses like you should!” and “What do we want? A contract! When do we want it? Now!” Nurses also waved at passing streetcars and drivers, garnering public support.

During a break in the picketing, several nurses spoke out against LCMC Health System, the nonprofit corporation they work for.

“As I started my nursing career, I expected [to work for] a system dedicated to providing the best possible care to everyone in our community. Instead, what I found is a system that degrades, devalues and disrespects the nursing profession,” said David Duplechain, a nurse working in the neurointensive care unit.

“Some nurses here haven’t seen a raise in close to two decades. And this two percent merit raise that UMC gives to some of us if they like you–that two percent is insulting,” said Shawnda Franklin, a float pool nurse at UMC for ten years.

Alongside the nurses, a large contingent of community supporters joined the picket in solidarity, including representatives from the Communication Workers of America, Starbucks Workers United, United Auto Workers, United Teachers of New Orleans, United Campus Workers, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Members of the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) came to support the striking nurses from across the country.

“To LCMC management’s dismay, you’re still here, and the reason you’re here today has a name: retention, retention, retention!” emphasized Cokie Giles, a president of the NNOC and a nurse from Bangor, Maine.

Strikers expect to remain on the picket lines until November 13, at which point LCMC executives are expected to be at the bargaining table, ready to bend to the will of organized labor.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #Labor #Nurses #Strike #NNU #Feature

New Orleans, LA – On April 22, almost 100 nurses and their supporters rallied at the University Medical Center. They were scheduled for bargaining that day, but LCMC Health Systems (formerly Louisiana Children’s Medical Center) cancelled the session. Nurses demanded that LCMC come to the table and followed up on a strike announcement that they had made the day before.

“Instead of buying balloons and ribbons to placate us, sit at the damn table,” said Terry Moguilles of National Nurses United. She proceeded to tell the media that the nurses would be on strike May 1 and join the citywide May Day March for workers’ and immigrants’ rights.

The union is demanding adequate staffing for patients’ quality care. Nurses voted to unionize in December 2023 and have been in contract negotiations ever since. Step Up Louisiana helped to organize the rally.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #Labor #Nurses #NNU

New Orleans, LA – On October 25, nurses at University Medical Center gathered on the corner of Canal and Galvez Streets for a one-day strike to demand safe staffing ratios, workplace safety protections, higher pay and improved benefits.

The strike began at 7 a.m. on Friday, when nurses joined the picket line outside the hospital. They were joined by dozens of community members, chanting loudly and proudly as they marched. Chants included “What do we want? A contract! When do we want it? Now!” Some signs read “If nurses are outside, there’s something wrong inside.”

The crowd was filled with energy, with music blasting and people dancing together. “It feels so uplifting to be out here standing together surrounded by our community,” said Zoe Krulak-Palmer, a nurse with National Nurses United (NNU). “Nursing working conditions are patient care conditions.”

University Medical Center nurses successfully unionized in December of last year. University Medical Center was the first private hospital in the state of Louisiana to successfully unionize with an 82% majority. They have been in negotiations with hospital management since March, with no progress on key issues. “We had hoped to avoid the strike, but the hospital left us with no other choice,” Krulak-Palmer said.

While many of the recent strikes in the country have been from an economic stance, the nurses at UMC are striking for better conditions for their patients. The nurses argue that while they give their all for their patients, the hospital does not give them adequate resources, short staffs nurses and leaves them without proper security.

“I have been a nurse at UMC for 18 years and have witnessed the change from a focus on patient care to profit over the years,” said Heidi Tuiague, a nurse on the bargaining team for National Nurses United. “Patients should always be our number one priority.”

The 24-hour strike was set to end at 7 a.m. on Saturday. At that time, as the nurses gathered and walked over to the hospital, they found the entrance locked with hospital security behind the doors. When the nurses walked over to a different entrance, security officers shut and locked the doors right in their faces. One of the nurses exclaimed, “We want to go in and treat our patients, but you are not letting us in!” The buses which brought the strike-breaking travel nurses were still parked right outside that same entrance.

It is clear that University Medical Center does not care about the community nor about employees. The hospital knew that the strike would last only 24 hours, but still chose to punish the striking nurses by not letting them back to work. The hospital chose to keep using the more expensive temporary labor from traveling nurses, who are unfamiliar with the hospital and with its patients.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #Labor #Nurses #NNU #Strike

Tampa, FL – Early in the morning March 4, nurses and their supporters rallied out front HCA Florida Largo Hospital in Largo to generate support for a good contract in the upcoming negotiations between HCA and National Nurses United.

Passing commuters honked their car horns as the crowd chanted in support of major nurse demands.

Contract negotiations begin March 5 for HCA nurses at ten hospitals across central Florida from Brooksville, south to Port Charlotte, and east to Orlando. Among the main demands are safe staffing levels and patient ratios, as well as fighting attempts to replace RNs with team nursing programs and technology.

The previous contract was negotiated in 2021 with the COVID-19 pandemic being a focal point. The contract expires May 31. HCA is the largest hospital system in the United States, making $5.2 billion in 2023. Florida senator and former governor Rick Scott made his name in the 90s after being forced to resign as CEO from HCA in a scandal over improper bookkeeping.

“HCA staffs their hospitals at 30% below the national average, we want them to staff it at 100%,” said National Nurses United bargaining committee member Karena Jimenez, in reference to one of the major demands they are fighting for in contract negotiations.

National Nurses United pledged to continue their struggle against HCA’s greedy practices.

#TampaFL #Labor #Contract #NNU #Healthcare #Nurses