HJNO Jul/Aug 2026

NURSING STRIKE 42 JUL / AUG 2026 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS Response from University Medical Center New Orleans University Medical Center New Orleans (UMC) remains committed to bargaining in good faith with National Nurses United (NNU) and working toward a fair and sustainable collective bargaining agreement. UMC continues to meet regularly with NNU’s bargaining team twice a month, with sessions scheduled through October. To date, the parties have reached 17 tentative agreements and are actively negotiating approximately 25–30 additional proposals. UMC leadership has the authority to resolve the issues under negotiation and re- mains actively engaged in the process. While progress has been made, there is still important work ahead before a full agreement can be reached. Throughout negotiations, our top priority remains providing exceptional care to the patients and communities who rely on UMC every day. As part of standard con- tingency planning, if notice of a potential strike is issued, UMC implements a plan to ensure continuity of care. If a bargaining session falls within the 10-day notice period, those sessions will be canceled so leadership can focus on maintaining safe and uninterrupted patient care. UMC continues to invest significantly in its workforce, workplace safety, patient care services, and hospital operations. From the first quarter of 2024 through the second quarter of 2025, UMC opened 118 inpatient beds, increasing staffed bed capacity by 40 percent. This expansion reflects both growing community needs and continued investment in recruiting and retaining the nursing workforce required to support that growth. In 2026, UMC is also expanding critical care capacity with the addition of 12 ICU beds. Regarding emergency department operations, UMC’s average time from arrival to first provider contact is approximately 14 minutes. Some publicly cited data reflects total length of stay of patients in the emergency department, including those requir- ing highly specialized services such as trauma, stroke, behavioral health, or forensic care. As the region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, UMC serves a unique role in caring for high-acuity patients who often require longer, more complex treatment in the ED. Excluding high-acuity patients, low-acuity patients experience lower wait times, and UMC has made measurable progress in reducing ED wait times for lower-acuity patients, with average times improving from approximately 220 minutes in early 2024 to about 140 minutes as of late 2025. We recognize that timely movement of patients from the ED to inpatient units is an important part of care delivery. UMC has taken steps to address this by expanding inpatient capacity and continuing to recruit and retain nursing staff to support ad- ditional beds and services. Like all unionized workplaces, wages, benefits, and working conditions for union- represented nurses are determined through collective bargaining and cannot be changed unilaterally. UMC has made proposals related to compensation, bene- fits, and workplace conditions during negotiations, and we will continue working through the bargaining process to reach agreement on these issues. This includes areas such as pay, paid time off, and other benefits, which must be mutually agreed upon before being implemented. UMC continues to focus on nurse recruitment and retention through competitive compensation proposals, professional development opportunities, expanded staffing capacity, and investments in workplace safety. Pro- grams such as UMC Safe provide a comprehensive approach to violence prevention, staff support, training, and security enhancements to help ensure a safe environ- ment for employees, patients, and visitors. We value the dedication and professionalism of our nurses and all members of the UMC team. While negotiations continue, our focus remains on supporting our workforce, delivering high-quality care, and fulfilling our mission as Louisiana’s safety-net hospital. rate of pay, and not getting paid time off or insurance in order to get an increase in their pay so they can sustainably live. Editor What’s the average salary of a nurse just starting at UMC right now? Tujague I think it’s $30 to $32 an hour if you take benefits, and if not, it’s like $37. Editor What is the motivation that most peo- ple have for being in this union? Tujague My answer would be to see improved patient care in the city of New Orleans and the Gulf South. We get every single patient type and every single medical emergency type that is possibly there and we want to be able to give the patients the care that they deserve, to be able to educate them on their medications at discharge with enough knowledge that they’re not coming back within two or three days because they didn’t understand their medicines, and we want to not experience that moral distress when we leave every day knowing that we could have done more. Editor Moral distress is quite the term. If you could go back and choose again, would you still become a nurse? Tujague Absolutely, 100%. As a nurse of 20 years, I can only hope that the people behind me that are coming up have the same desire and drive to continue like I do. Editor Well, thank you for being one, and again for your time today. Tujague Thank you. n Editor’s update: After the bargaining session referenced in this interview, National Nurses United said nego- tiations remain ongoing and that there had been some movement toward a possible agreement. Additional work remains before any final deal could be presented to eligible UMC nurses for a ratification vote. Bargaining is ex- pected to continue on a monthly ba- sis, with both the nurses’ bargaining team and LCMC needing to agree on terms before a wider vote can occur.