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UMC nurses strike in support of recently fired colleague [1]
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Date: 2025-07-15
Unionized nurses at University Medical Center began a two-day strike on Tuesday (July 15), alleging that hospital administrators retaliated against two nurses who were active in the union by firing one and disciplining the other. It is the union’s fourth time striking in less than a year.
Mike Robertshaw, previously a leading voice in negotiations with LCMC Health, the private nonprofit that manages the hospital, was terminated late last month from his position in the burn intensive care unit. The union rallied in June to protest the hospital’s move to terminate him after he left non-scheduled medication for a patient to take after they woke up from a nap — a decision that would normally receive a low-level warning, if any, the union said.
The protest took place outside of the hospital on Canal Street. LCMC did not respond to a request for comment on the reasons for Robertshaw’s termination and the union’s claims of retaliation.
Robertshaw first joined the hospital as a registered nurse in January 2024. At the rally on Tuesday, he told Verite News that the union was “completely galvanized” by his firing.
“The nurses understand that this is not about me, this is about all of us,” he said. “We have been in an environment where nurses are now scared to do their jobs for fear of retaliation, and that makes patients less safe.”
Robertshaw said that the hospital’s response to union organizing is putting patients at risk.
“If you can’t do your job, it makes it more difficult to be safe around your patients because you’re always worrying and second-guessing if someone’s going to come behind you and terminate you or discipline you unjustly,” he said.
New Orleans nurses strike outside of University Medical Center on Tuesday morning, July 15, 2025. Credit: Christiana Botic / Verite News
Unionized nurses at UMC have been negotiating for wage transparency, merit-based raises, workplace violence protections and a lower nurse-to-patient ratio since March 2024. The union claims LCMC is unfairly targeting union members with disciplinary action for low-level violations.
The union claims that LCMC recently agreed to a tentative agreement during collective bargaining that would mandate a progressive discipline policy, requiring hospital administrators to give nurses verbal and written warnings before escalating to termination.
LCMC previously stated to The Times-Picayune it will continue to bargain “in good faith” with the union and that the hospital would remain fully functional despite the strike.
Hailey Dupré, an endoscopy nurse who serves on the union’s bargaining team, said during the union’s past strikes, the hospital brought in contract nurses from outside agencies that charge far more than the average UMC nurse’s pay.
She added that the hospital is given at least 10 days notice in advance of a strike so that elective procedures can be cancelled and critically ill patients can be transferred, if necessary.
At the picket line, she echoed the union’s belief that LCMC’s actions negatively impact patient wellbeing.
“Taking really good nurses away from the bedside is a patient safety issue,” she said. “That is something we will always be fighting for.”
Christiana Botic contributed to this article.
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