Nurses at Mission Hospital in Asheville have extended the deadline to vote on a strike authorization into Labor Day weekend.
The results of the strike vote were originally supposed to be tallied Thursday night, but the deadline was extended due to scheduling and staffing issues that interfered with a complete vote.
“Scheduling has made it hard for nurses to get to the hospital, and short-staffing has made it impossible for nurses to get down to the cafeteria to vote,” Mission Health nurse Elle Kruta told Carolina Public Press.
“As nurse leaders, we want to make it as inclusive as possible, so we’re going to extend the voting period to authorize a strike.”
Kruta said she does not think hospital owner HCA has been intentionally meddling or interfering with the vote.
However, this opinion isn’t shared by all. Missy Harris, who worked as a chaplain at Mission Hospital for five years until she left in May 2023, has heard complaints to the contrary.
“What I’m hearing from folks who still work at Mission is that there’s been a lot of effort from administrators to discourage nurses from voting to strike, a lot of intimidation and bullying of folks,” Harris said.
“Part of the reason I left Mission was seeing nurses and support staff stretched beyond their limits.”
All nurses at the hospital, regardless of whether they’re union members, can place an anonymous ballot in favor of or against a strike, according to Jeanne Mould, a nurse at Mission Health. Since the vote began last Sunday, waiting until the weekend allows a full week of shifts to visit the ballot box.
A vote in favor of a strike does not necessarily mean a strike will occur — it simply authorizes the union to announce a strike. Results of the vote will likely be ready by Tuesday.
“We’re hoping that the vote will be enough to show them that we really want a good contract, and that we are here for our patients and our community,” Kruta said. The union goes back to the bargaining table with HCA on Sept. 9.
Administrators at Mission Hospital hope to avoid a strike, but also feel they have made notable concessions in the bargaining process.
“Mission Hospital will continue to bargain in good faith, as we have done for months,” HCA spokesperson Nancy Lindell told CPP in an email on Friday.
“That process has resulted in a very significant wage proposal from the hospital, a number of agreements on topics such as parking, uniforms and technology, and significant progress on health benefits, health and safety, education support and other areas. We hope that we can conclude these negotiations and move forward together in caring for patients.”
If the union’s bargaining team feels that a strike is the only way to move negotiations forward, they will provide Mission Health with a 10-day work stoppage notice. The union is currently considering a one-day strike.
The nurses union has been negotiating with HCA on a new contract since April. They feel that little meaningful progress has been made. Nurses at the hospital have been working under an expired contract since early July.
Three major areas of concern are improved nurse-to-patient ratios, efforts to reduce patient violence against nurses and wages that keep up with the rising cost of living in Asheville. Nurses also want fair meal and rest breaks, improved health benefits and recognition of more federal holidays.
Nurses at Mission Hospital originally voted to organize a union in 2020, a year after HCA acquired the chain. The Asheville facility remains the only unionized hospital in North Carolina. Nurses at other Mission Health facilities are not part of the union.
According to NurseTogether, the number of nurse strikes across the country tripled between 2020 and 2023.
HCA is no stranger to this trend. In November 2023, more than 2,400 nurses across three HCA hospitals in Southern California launched a 5-day strike. HCA nurses in Las Vegas voted to authorize a strike on Wednesday.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include a response that HCA provided after he article was first published.
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