Wichita nurses ratify new contract with strong measures to improve patient safety and nurse retention

Registered nurses at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis and St. Joseph hospitals in Wichita, Kansas, voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying a new three-year contract today, winning protections to improve patient safety and nurse retention, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU). NNU is the largest and fastest-growing union of registered nurses in the nation.

"After a successful strike in July, and with the threat of a second strike, we were able to win key improvements on all our priority issues," said Marvin Ruckle, RN in the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Joseph. "Patients will be safer, and nurses will stay at our hospitals because of this agreement."

Highlights of the contract include:

• Safe staffing improvements, including protections for charge RNs, and enhanced floating protections for nurses working outside their normal unit.
• Workplace violence prevention language, including guaranteeing staffed weapons detection systems at all public entrances.
• Economic gains to help retain and recruit experienced nurses: The agreement includes a 17-24 percent wage increase over three years and additional paid holidays.
• One master agreement that covers all NNOC represented nurses in Wichita.
• No contract takeaways.

"Nurses in Wichita are one," said Shelly Rader, RN in the emergency unit at St. Francis. "And now, we have one master agreement to cover all union nurses in Wichita, we are united for our patients."

The new pact covers the period October 2026 to October 2029.

NNOC represents more than 1,100 nurses combined at Ascension Via Christi St Francis and St Joseph and more Ascension nurses across the United States.

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.