AUSTIN, Texas — It's officially been more than a week since nurses at Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin went on strike. They're demanding safer staffing conditions and say they want the health care system to know it's all for the betterment of patient care.
But a week later, some nurses say there hasn't been a change and say any movement on the bargaining table has been a slap in the face to nurses.
Around 900 nurses from Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin participated in the one-day strike on June 27.
Nurse Lindsay Spinney told KVUE on the day of the strike that movement at the bargaining table isn't happening.
"Oftentimes, there's two attorneys that show up, and they don't have a whole lot to say to us. It's not really a conversation, and there's not a lot of progress being made," Spinney said.
Nurses said a one-day strike was authorized so there wouldn't be much of a lapse in patient care. But they weren't allowed to return to work for three more days, as Ascension needed to bring in temporary staff.
During this time, nurse Jessica Gripentrog, an internal float pool nurse for Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin and a leader in her union chapter, said she heard concerning reports.
"We did hear word that it was extremely chaotic at first. And that makes sense. Because these nurses, they don't know the hospital, they don't know what supplies we carry," Grippentrog said. "Women having to give labor without any anesthesia because it was not being able to get to them in time is extremely inappropriate."
A spokesperson for Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin told KVUE in a statement on Monday:
"Approximately 30% of our represented associates chose to report to work and continued caring for our patients through the short-term strike event. This support, along with the temporary staff we engaged, ensured we were able to continue to provide quality patient care across all disciplines – inpatient care, emergency care, diagnostics, outpatient procedures, surgeries and more. We were well prepared to support continued operations across our ministry.
"We look forward to continuing to partner with our registered nurses in our shared commitment to serving our patients and community. We remain committed to continued dialogue at the bargaining table in order to reach a collective bargaining agreement that respects the human dignity of our associates and ensures the continued ability to deliver on our Mission."
Gripentrog said since the strike, as nurses have returned to work in the last week, management has been retaliating. She said they won't allow shift swaps, which she said are common, and she said management has gone back on previously approved swaps.
The nurses are not giving up on their fight.
"What the nurses are saying is that we will strike as many times as possible and do whatever it takes in order for our patients to get exceptional care," Gripentrog said.
Both Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin and the nurses say at the end of it all, they will still work together to come to an agreement they all feel is fair.
If these nurses do choose to strike again, they will first authorize it with each other. This will then give a 10-day notice to Ascension if nurses decide to take this step again, which both the nurses and the union say is a last-resort option for them.