Ascension Seton nurses ratify 3-year union contract after holding strikes

AUSTIN (KXAN) — As a way to improve patient care and boost nurse recruitment and retention, registered nurses at Ascension Seton Medical Center (ASMCA) in Austin voted in favor of ratifying a three-year contract, the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) announced Monday.

The first-ever union contract goes into effect immediately and will expire in March 2027, a news release from ASMCA said. The contract covers 1,100 registered nurses including nursing residents and fellows who were initially not included in the contract, according to ASMCA.

Highlights of the contract include:

• Staffing improvements: Staffing grids in contract, including a minimum ratio of one RN for every two patients (1:2) in the intensive care unit and neonatal intensive care unit, one RN for every two patients (1:2) in the labor and delivery unit, one RN for every four patients (1:4) in the emergency department; process to settle staffing disputes.
• Professional Practice Committee: Monthly meetings with 10 RNs and management to address solutions for ongoing patient care concerns.
• Patient and RN protections: Standard-setting language on health, safety, and infectious disease prevention and workplace violence prevention.
• Fair and transparent wage scale based on years of experience: An average of over 11% compensation increase, with some receiving as much as a 25.9% increase, over the life of the agreement.

"Nurses fought for our community and our community fought with us, and we are so grateful for the overwhelming support we received, including from our patients and allies in the labor movement,” said Kris Fuentes, RN in the neonatal intensive care unit, in the release.

As part of a nationwide movement, Ascension Seton nurses in Austin previously held a one-day strike in the summer and fall of 2023.

The group of Ascension Seton nurses voted to unionize in September 2022, joining the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United.

ASCMA said NNOC nurses at Ascension via Christi St. Joseph, Ascension via Christi St. Francis in Wichita, Kansas, and Ascension St. Agnes in Baltimore, Maryland, are all in negotiations for their first union contracts.