Ascension St. Agnes nurses ratify first-ever union contract

New agreement includes strong measures to improve patient safety and nurse retention

Registered nurses at Ascension Saint Agnes in Baltimore, Md., voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying a three-year contract on Saturday, winning their first-ever collective bargaining agreement in a watershed moment for nurses across Baltimore. RNs are the hospital are represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU).

"After four years of aggressive struggle, we are delighted to ratify the first union contract for private-sector nurses in Baltimore," said Robin Buckner, RN in intravenous therapy. "The contract provides much-needed protections against unsafe floating, unfair discipline, and workplace violence. We won a grievance procedure, a pay scale, and much more. As nurses, we now have a voice to advocate for safe staffing so that our patients get the best care."

Highlights of the contract include:

• Safe staffing improvements, including an end to floating nurses to units outside their clinical competency, a Professional Practice Committee, a Staffing Issues Committee, and an end to mandatory overtime.
• Workplace violence prevention language, including the provision of security available to immediately assist nurses and protections against discipline for raising safety concerns.
• Fair processes: A grievance procedure including the right to arbitration, just cause and progressive discipline standards, and the right to union representation.
• Economic gains to help retain and recruit experienced nurses. The agreement includes a 5-6% pay increase over three years. Since unionizing in 2023, full-time and part-time Saint Agnes nurses have seen cumulative raises of up to 34% thanks to union nurse advocacy.
• No mass layoffs of per diem nurses, as originally proposed by Ascension.
• Successorship protections that protect the contract in the event the hospital ownership changes.

"Over the long road to secure this contract, we won a lot of victories, from equipment improvements to staffing improvements to raises, through organizing and putting pressure on the hospital," said Melissa LaRue, RN in the intensive care unit. "Now that we have a contract, we are empowered, ready to hold Ascension accountable to it, and ready to keep up the fight for a hospital that puts patients over profits."

The new pact covers the period September 2026 to September 2029. NNOC represents more than 600 nurses at Saint Agnes.

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.