Baltimore nurses plan one-day strike over safety and staffing

Registered nurses at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Md., plan a one-day strike on Monday, July 6, to protest what they say is management’s refusal to address their concerns about patient safety and staff retention, according to National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United.

The nurses say staffing levels and floating practices have become central issues in negotiations for a first contract. They are scheduled to be joined at their morning rally by U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume.

According to the union, management has reduced staff hours, making it harder for nurses to provide the level of care they believe patients need. The release says Ascension reported more than $900 million in net profit in the last fiscal year, while management has told nurses that the hour cuts are part of an effort to increase “productivity.” The union says those changes have affected the hospital’s ability to maintain safe staffing.

Nurses also say the hospital is using floating practices that place staff in units where they are not trained to work. The press release says nurses who normally work in medical/surgical units have been floated to postpartum and pediatric units, even when they are not trained to care for babies, children or new parents.

“Staffing is the No. 1 issue that our coworkers bring to us nurses on the bargaining team. When we have too many patients, we can’t provide the care we were trained to give,” said Gideon Eziama, RN in the cardiovascular telemetry unit. He said the hospital’s refusal to improve staffing in the contract is troubling and said management should “put patients over profits and agree to a fair contract now.”

The strike is set to begin at 7 a.m. on Monday, July 6, and continue until 6:59 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7. The rally with Mfume is scheduled for 9 a.m. at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital, 900 S. Caton Ave., Baltimore, on the corner of the main Caton Ave. entrance by the “Ascension” sign.

The press release says nurses gave advance notice to the hospital ahead of the strike. It also says this action follows Saint Agnes nurses’ first strike in July 2025.

Negotiations for a first contract have been underway since January 2024, with little to no movement on key issues, according to the union. Nurses are asking management to invest in staffing and agree to contract language that includes safe staffing, retention of experienced registered nurses, and limits on floating assignments based on patient safety.

Kathryn Blackburn, RN in the labor delivery unit at Saint Agnes, said floating protections are important and serious. She said that in the postpartum unit this week, nurses from medical-surgical units were assigned without the specialization needed to care for babies in their most vulnerable moments. Blackburn said the hospital would not be harmed by agreeing to floating protections and said nurses are seeking common-sense contract provisions.

National Nurses Organizing Committee says it represents more than 600 nurses at Ascension St. Agnes. National Nurses United says it is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.