Reno nurses to hold picket at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center

RNs demand that hospital management reinstate unlawfully terminated nurses

Registered nurses at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center (SMRMC) in Reno, Nev., will hold an informational picket on Thursday, June 11, to protest the hospital administration's anti-union tactics and refusal to bargain a fair contract, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU).

Prime Healthcare unjustly terminated two registered nurses and active union leaders for lawful union advocacy. Nurses demand that SMRMC and Prime Healthcare immediately reinstate the fired nurses and agree to contract measures that protect patients and invest in nursing staff. SMRMC nurses have been in negotiations for a new contract since July 2025; however, Prime's unwillingness to bargain fairly on key issues has stalled movement toward a new contract.

"SMRMC's unjust firing of two nurse leaders is in direct retaliation to our push for a fair contract that supports patient safety and nurse retention," said Rubell Peterson, RN in the telemetry unit. "This is a scare tactic to push nurses to accept an offer that does not adequately support us. Nurses are the reason why SMRMC won multiple awards for patient safety, but we won't stay if we experience retaliation and disrespect."

Who: Registered nurses at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center
What: Informational picket to demand a fair contract and reinstatement of wrongfully terminated nurse leaders
When: Thursday, June 11, 2026, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Where: Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center, corner of N. Arlington Ave. and 6th St.

"Nurses who work at Saint Mary's navigate so many challenges each day while trying to serve the members of our community in their most vulnerable moments," said Laura Parkhouse, RN in the telemetry unit. "Those challenges require nurses to lean on one another when we face difficulties. Prime must respect our right to stand together to protect our patients and one another without fear of retaliation."

NNOC represents 350 nurses at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center. Nurses notified their employer on June 1 that they would hold an informational picket. Previously, they held a one-day strike on Feb. 18 to urge management to invest in nursing staff and agree to a contract that provides safe staffing and a commitment to practices that recruit and retain nurses amid high nurse turnover.

Prime operates more than 50 hospitals across 15 states, employing 60,000 health care workers. Nurses at Prime-owned Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago, Ill., who have recently filed to join NNOC, will hold a one-day strike on June 11 to protest the administration's illegal firings of six nurses in retaliation for union activity.

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.