Mission Hospital prepares for nurses’ strike despite ongoing negotiations

ASHEVILLE, NC (WLOS) — The three-year contract for hundreds of Mission Hospital nurses expired on Tuesday, July 2, but nurses are continuing to work their shifts while negotiations continue.

However, News 13 has learned that the hospital is preparing for a possible strike if an agreement cannot be reached.

“We would be disappointed in the leadership of National Nurses United (NNU) if they decided to strike,” Mission Hospital spokeswoman Nancy Lindell said in an email. “This is absolutely unnecessary given the serious effort we have invested in negotiations since mid-April. In addition to our current wage increase proposals, Mission has granted a $20 million annual wage increase outside of the current contract and beyond this agreement.”

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Lindell said nurses are an important part of the hospital team and that HCA wants to reach a fair agreement.

“However, if the NNU leadership decides to go on strike, Mission Hospital will remain open,” she said.

Lindell said HCA Healthcare has the resources to support hospitalized patients, including engaging fully qualified, state-licensed and certified nursing staff.

“Striking would be a last resort,” said April Dozier, a nurse in Mission Hospital’s maternity ward. “I know a lot of nurses would be willing to do that if they had to, but if HCA can give us a fair contract, it won’t happen.”

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Dozier said the most important issues for nurses are staff-to-patient ratios, wages and nurse safety.

“People don’t feel safe because there are no physical security measures, and they don’t feel safe because there are no metal detectors in the emergency room,” Dozier said.

Dozier said she did not have specific information about safety concerns involving nurses, but a representative from the nurses union said he would get back to News 13 with more details.

Nevertheless, the wage issue remains a priority in the negotiations, said Dozier.

“Many people who just started here cannot afford to live here in Western North Carolina on their current salary. We try to keep wages high enough so that we can provide safe patient care because we want to retain the nurses who came here,” she said.

Dozier said she has observed increased turnover among nursing staff since HCA acquired Mission.

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A spokesperson for the nurses’ union said the hospital had about 448 vacancies for nurses in May. When the Mission Nurses’ Union was formed in 2019, it was the largest nurses’ union formed in the south since 1975, according to the NNU.

The NNU at Mission originally represented 1,800 nurses, but a spokesman said the number of Mission nurses it represents is now below 1,650 due to staff resignations.