Baltimore nurses to hold one-day strike for patient safety and staff retention

RNs at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital to strike on July 6

Registered nurses at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Md., will hold a one-day strike on Monday, July 6, to protest the administration's refusal to address RNs' deep concerns about patient safety and staff retention, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) today. The nurses will be joined by U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume at their morning rally.

Management has cut staff hours, impeding nurses' ability to provide optimal patient care. While Ascension reported over $900 million in net profit in the last fiscal year, management has told nurses that cuts to their hours are part of a push for increased "productivity." To cover gaps in staffing, management is engaging in unsafe floating practices,including floating nurses who usually work in the medical/surgical units to work in postpartum and pediatric units when they are not trained to care for babies, children, or new parents.

"Staffing is the No. 1 issue that our coworkers bring to us nurses on the bargaining team. When we have too many patients, we can't provide the care we were trained to give," said Gideon Eziama, RN in the cardiovascular telemetry unit. "The hospital's stubborn refusal to improve staffing in our contract is troubling. They should put patients over profits and agree to a fair contract now."

Who: Registered nurses at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital
What: One-day strike for patient safety and a fair contract
When: Monday, July 6, 7 a.m. to Tuesday, July 7, 6:59 a.m.
Rally at 9:00 a.m. with U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume
Where: Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital, 900 S. Caton Ave., Baltimore, Md., on the corner of the main Caton Ave. entrance into the hospital by the "Ascension" sign.

This strike follows Saint Agnes nurses' very first strike in July 2025. The hospital has refused to agree to a fair contract that addresses nurses patient safety concerns. Nurses have given advance notice to the hospital for their upcoming strike.

Saint Agnes nurses have been in negotiations since January 2024 for a first contract with little to no movement on key issues. The RNs urge management to invest in nursing staff and agree to a contract that provides:

• Safe staffing
• Retention of experienced RNs to provide safe patient care
• Limitations to floating assignments based on patient safety

"Floating limitations are incredibly important and incredibly serious. In the postpartum unit this week, we were staffed by nurses from medical-surgical units without the specialization needed to care for babies in their most vulnerable moments," said Kathryn Blackburn, RN in the labor delivery unit at Saint Agnes. "We have excellent, qualified nurses, but by trying to save pennies by shifting people around, Ascension does our patients a disservice. We are fighting for common-sense provisions in our contract, and the hospital will only benefit by agreeing to floating protections."

National Nurses Organizing Committee represents more than 600 nurses at Ascension St 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.