University Medical Center nurses picket outside New Orleans facility for workplace safety

NEW ORLEANS ( WGNO ) — Back in December, University Medical Center nurses voted to unionize.

However, since that day, many of those who voted say there has been a lack of urgency by management to better their work life.

Now those frustrations have made it out onto the street, where the nurses have decided to picket.

“In those seven months since then, we’ve only had six bargaining sessions where we’ve gotten absolutely no progress on getting a contract signed,” said UMC emergency registered nurse Heidi Tujague.

The main highlights of this contract would be to create a workplace violence prevention program that would be implemented at all times in all locations of the facility, making the safety of the healthcare providers a priority and, in turn, ensuring better care for the patients.

“We’re asking for better implementation of de-escalation techniques to actually de-escalate any kind of violence we’re experiencing such as agitated patients,” said UMC outpatient neurosurgery nurse practitioner Lauren Waddell.

The nurses say while the management has been communicating with them regarding their plans to increase nurse safety at the hospital, there has been a lack of show for what they tell them.

“They said they were going to be putting up metal detectors and they’ve tested metal detectors, but we haven’t seen it. We have seen some dogs that walk around, but we don’t need a higher police presence. We need more of the hospital staff to take care of the people,” said Tujague.

While it’s not on the table at the moment, a strike could potentially be in play if the nurses’ demands are not met in a timely manner.

“That’s always an option, but it’s something that will be voted on by all of the nurses prior to and we will give a 10-day notice to the hospital if the nurses do vote on a strike,” said Tujague.

A statement released by UMC reads, “As an essential hospital caring for underserved populations in their most vulnerable moments, UMC continues to prioritize the best patient care for our community. We will continue to make the changes necessary to ensure our hospital is safe for patients and team members.”

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