Ascension nurses call on U.S. bishops to hold Catholic hospital chain accountable to church directives

Nurses from Ascension Saint Agnes with members of the clergy and other local labor leaders at solidarity event at St. Ignatius Church in Baltimore, September, 2024.

Saint Agnes nurses urge swift resolution on contract negotiations to improve outcomes for patient care, nurse retention

Registered nurses from Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Md. will rally in front of a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) meeting on Nov. 12. They will highlight how Ascension has failed to follow USCCB directives to Catholic health care organizations to both serve and advocate for patients "at the margins of society" and "treat its employees respectfully and justly."

"As a proud Catholic, I am deeply saddened to see Ascension's mission disintegrate in the years I have worked at Saint Agnes Hospital," said Melissa LaRue, RN in the intensive care unit (ICU) and member of the bargaining team. "The church teaches that all human beings should be treated with dignity, but at our hospital, we see indignity on a daily, even hourly, basis - with rampant unsafe staffing and workplace violence due to Ascension's relentless pursuit of profit."

Baltimore nurses have been in negotiations since Feb. 2024, following a successful union election in November 2023. Ascension has failed to bargain in good faith with Saint Agnes nurses on language that would improve safe staffing and protect patients from cuts to services, lawsuits for billing disputes, and surprise billing or excess charges.

Who: Ascension Saint Agnes registered nurses, joined by Ascension nurses from Kansas and Texas and local religious and elected officials
What: Rally to call on U.S. bishops to hold Ascension accountable to Catholic values of serving vulnerable patients
When: Tuesday, Nov. 12 - 9 a.m.-10 a.m.
Where: Waterfront Marriott | 700 Aliceanna St., Baltimore, MD

Saint Agnes nurses, who are members of National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), will be joined by union nurses from Ascension Via Christi St. Francis and Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph in Wichita, Kan. and Ascension Seton in Austin, Texas. In the last two years, nearly 2,000 nurses across four Ascension facilities have taken historic collective action - organizing unions and going on strike - due in part to the startling contradictions between Ascension's stated religious mission and its treatment of the communities it serves and employs.

Archbishop Borys Gudziak and Chairman of USCCB's Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development issued a statement last year that declared "the essential role labor unions can and often do play in society must be acknowledged and affirmed." Despite this, Ascension continues to delay contract negotiations with Saint Agnes nurses and attack its union nurses across the country, including the unlawful termination of Austin nurses and disciplinary threats against Baltimore nurses. Department of Labor statistics show that Ascension spent more than $1.2 million on anti-union consultants in 2023 alone.

"The nurses of Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital deserve the same respect for their human dignity, their lifesaving and life-affirming work for the needy of Baltimore, and for their right to organize and collectively bargain for their working conditions as Ascension has recognized in other Catholic hospitals," said Fr. Ty Hullinger, a pastor at the Transfiguration Catholic Community in Baltimore and a member of the Maryland Catholic Labor Network. "The right to organize and collectively bargain are fundamental rights enshrined in Catholic social doctrine, and so too is the obligation of employers to bargain in good faith. We call on Ascension to reach a fair and just agreement with Baltimore's union nurses now and to bargain in good faith for a fair contract now!"

"The Maryland Catholic Labor Network strongly supports the efforts of Saint Agnes nurses in their effort to negotiate their first union contract," said Nancy Conrad, coordinator of the Maryland Catholic Labor Network steering committee. "These brave nurses have organized themselves to address staffing concerns, employee burnout, and the needs of their patients. As a network of laity, clergy and religious, inspired by Catholic social teaching on labor and work, we pray that our bishops hear the petitions of the nurses of this Catholic hospital and encourage a first contract with Saint Agnes management that will satisfy the needs of these dedicated health professionals who care about this Catholic health institution and the needs of the people they serve in West Baltimore."

Ascension Healthcare is one the largest and wealthiest Catholic health care systems in the United States, and promotes its "[advocacy] for a compassionate and just society." But the reality of Ascension's business practices stand in stark contrast to this mission: Iit has attacked workers' rights; enriched executives with multi-million dollar salaries; and amassed billions of dollars in cash reserves by cutting staffing levels.

Additionally, Ascension has cut services that disproportionately impact "the poor and vulnerable," the groups it says it pays special attention to:

• Recent NNU analysis of Ascension's sales and attempted sales of 24 acute-care hospitals since October. 2023 found that the sprawling chain is seeking to divest from poor communities. NNU found the average household income in the census tracts where Ascension sold their hospitals was just above $63,600, whereas the average household income in the census tract where Ascension maintained ownership of their hospitals was 17 percent higher, at more than $75,600.
• A January 2024 NNU report showed that Ascension cut a quarter of its labor and delivery units over the past decade. These closures were particularly pronounced in metropolitan areas, where Ascension cut 21 percent of its labor and delivery units from 2012 to 2021, compared to a national rate of 6 percent. Furthermore, these closures were more likely to take place in areas with higher rates of low-income, Black, and Latine patients, who are already at greater risk of pregnancy- and childbirth-related complications and death.

LaRue continued, "I plead with the bishops to use their power and authority to change Ascension's practices. They must demand that Ascension honor its mission and respect their directives to pay particular attention to the health care needs of the poor, the uninsured, and the underinsured who come to our hospital and to Ascension hospitals nationwide."

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with nearly 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.