Contract expires but nurses continue talks with Mission Hospital. Strike vote possible.

The contract between HCA and its nurses at Mission Hospital in Asheville expired Tuesday, but the nurses union has chosen to continue negotiations, delaying any decision to strike.

With the contract expired, the nursing staff and the hospital are locked into status quo, meaning the terms of the previous contract are held until the contract is renegotiated and ratified. Nurses will continue to hold their union rights.

The Asheville nurses union, which National Nurses United described upon its formation in 2020 as “the largest union election win in the South in a dozen years” is the first of its kind in North Carolina.

However, nurses have been deeply unsatisfied with their contract with the Tennessee-based for-profit hospital chain HCA, which purchased the formerly nonprofit Mission Health in 2019. Mission Health operates Mission Hospital in Asheville along with hospitals and other medical facilities in mostly rural communities in surrounding counties.

The union staged two rallies in June, and after the second, nurses suggested the possibility of a strike.

Nurses cite problems with both nurse and patient safety, understaffing and low wages. Bargaining sessions with HCA have proved largely unproductive, they say. However, there have been some key wins.

In their last bargaining session on June 27, the parties came to an agreement on the wording in the contract surrounding technology in the hospital.

“We want technology to enhance our profession and enhance the care we give the patient, but not to take the place of the nurse at the bedside,” Elle Kruta , a Mission Health nurse and member of the union’s bargaining team, told Carolina Public Press .

“We won that terminology, so that was huge. But we still want there to be safe staffing, for them to help us decrease workplace violence, and provide meal and rest breaks for the nurses. So we will continue to bargain in good faith.”

According to HCA, the same goes for the company.

“Nurses are an important part of our care team and we remain committed to reaching a contract agreement that is fair and equitable,” HCA spokesperson Nancy Lindell told CPP in an email.

The next bargaining session is July 16.

“Negotiations do not stop until we have a contract ready for us to ratify,” Kruta said.

If the nurses strike

If the nurses do decide to strike, they will conduct a strike authorization vote. If nurses vote in favor, the union would have to provide the hospital with 10 days of notice before any work stoppage.

HCA is already preparing to keep Mission Health open in case of a strike, though they hope to avoid it.

“We have taken proactive measures including contracting with fully qualified, licensed, and certified nursing staff who can provide high-quality care to the communities we serve,” Lindell said.

“If they strike, there’ll be some disruption in the short run, but for the most part, things will continue,” David Madland , a senior fellow at the progressive policy institute Center for American Progress Action Fund and advocate for unions in North Carolina, told CPP.

Madland says it’s possible that some longer-term scheduled procedures may get delayed in case of a strike, but essential services like emergency room operations will continue.

“The real question is about the long run, and whether the nurses get higher wages and better benefits and improved protections for them and their patients,” Madland said.

“If they don’t get those things, there’s a question of whether (the hospital) is going to be able to recruit or retain adequate staff. That has significant effects, not only on the workers and their conditions, but on the quality of patient care.”