New Orleans Nurses Begin Contract Negotiations

• University Medical Center (UMC) nurses held a rally on Monday – a first step following their December 2023 vote to unionize.
• UMC is part of LCMC Health, a nonprofit health system with nine locations throughout the greater New Orleans area.  
• UMC nurses joined the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United in hopes of improving working conditions and quality of care for patients.

Nurses at a New Orleans, Louisiana, private-sector hospital recently began negotiating for their first union contract. 

Practitioners at University Medical Center (UMC) held a rally on Monday – a first step following their December 2023 vote to unionize, according to National Nurses United (NNU). 

 The vote marked the largest National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election in the state in nearly three decades, NNU said. 

Speaking to Fox 8 in New Orleans during the rally, Lauren Waddell, a neurosurgery nurse practitioner, said the goal is to find “common ground” that addresses the needs of both nurses and patients. 

“I feel like it will empower other nurses in our city to uplift each other and help address the needs that they have at their own hospitals as well,” Waddell told Fox 8’s Olivia Vidal.

How New Orleans Nurses Got Here

The health care landscape in the greater New Orleans area has two main entities – LCMC and Ochsner Health – prompting some nurses like Tatiana Mukhtar to call the situation a “health care duopoly,” according to Verite News. 

“They’re making all the business decisions that put profits over patients in the New Orleans area,” she told Verite News in October 2023, prior to the unionization vote. “It’s time now for us to have a seat at the table and fight for our health care here to have a voice for us and for our patients.” 

Dana Judkins, a registered nurse in UMC’s trauma intensive care unit, said in a news release that the union election occurred with a supermajority. 

“Since the election, we’ve been talking to nurses about what our priorities are,” Judkins said, “and we’re ready to go to the table with a plan to win what we need for better patient care, better working conditions, and a better future for health care in New Orleans.” 

Kisha Montes, an RN in UMC’s behavioral health unit, said in the NNU release that a strong contract would improve staffing, safety and patient care. 

“We know that our first contract can set new, higher standards at UMC, and that can raise the bar at other hospitals, too,” she said. “So, we’re fighting for our patients and for ourselves, but we’re also fighting for patients everywhere and for all the nurses who haven’t unionized yet.” 

The Hospital’s Response

UMC is part of LCMC Health, a nonprofit health system with nine locations throughout the greater New Orleans area.  

John Nickens, UMC New Orleans president and CEO, urged staff, in a video statement on UMCFacts.com, to vote against a union. 

“You have a voice with us,” he said. “We’re excited about what the future brings.” 

Allison Guste, chief nursing officer, said she wants to be part of making UMC the best it can be – without a union – by serving the community, patients, nurses, and staff. 

“I recognize and know we as leaders could have done better in the past,” Guste said in a video testimonial. “It frustrates me that many of our nurses felt like they had to reach out to a union to get our attention. It frustrates me that many of our nurses have felt they were not being heard. So, for me, this is personal.” 

Nursing CE Central has requested a statement from LCMC regarding the contract negotiations but has not yet heard back. 

The Bottom Line

UMC nurses joined the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United in hopes of improving working conditions and quality of care for patients. While the hospital’s parent company, LCMC Health, opposed the establishment of a union, contract negotiations began this week as nurses seek to improve staffing and address safety concerns. 

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