Almost 1,000 nurses at Meriter Hospital began the first strike in the union’s history Tuesday, fighting for increased security, lower patient-staff ratios and higher wages.
“Nurses have been sounding the alarm about staffing concerns and adequate workplace safety and burnout for months, but management has refused to act or even hear us,” Pat Reis, president of SEIU Wisconsin and a registered nurse (RN) at Meriter, said at a press conference. “We do not take this action lightly. We are striking for our community, we are striking for our fellow nurses, and we are striking for every patient who walks through Meriter's doors.”
The strike followed more than 20 bargaining sessions since January, aided by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Since March 23, they have been working without a contract.
Three nurses on the union’s collective bargaining team described Meriter management “walking away from the bargaining table” after offering a contract with a 2.5% wage increase and a “vague promise to review staffing” the union refused.
Cars passed by honking in support as the nurses marched around the block before joining a picket line they plan to hold for the next 5 days, or until their demands are met. The nurses’ union provided Meriter administration with a mandatory 10-day strike notice on May 9, and was temporarily replaced by traveling nurses. The union and administration will meet on Thursday, WKOW reported.
The evening before the strike, Meriter administration sent out an email to staff threatening to rescind striking nurses’ health insurance during June, according to Reis and several other nurses. Striking nurses are locked out of their work emails until they return, and their badges have been deactivated.
Meriter reported they are “open and providing exceptional care.” They did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
Meriter nurses have been fighting for wage increases, safer staffing ratios and security measures since 2014.
Meriter is not the only Madison-area hospital with labor disagreements between nurses and administration. UW Health, a UnityPoint Health partner of Meriter Hospital, did not initially recognize its nurses’ union’s right to collective bargaining, though the nurses gained union recognition after a strike in 2022 and the Capitol Clinic center of Group Health Cooperative South Central Wisconsin (GHC-SCW) has faced struggles seeking union recognition. SEIU has filed over 60 unfair labor practice complaints against GHC administration.
Nurses call for increased security measures, wages
Several nurses spoke at the press conference, including postpartum nurse Madison Vander Hill who said her work at Meriter helps her feel connected to the city where she grew up and all of her family lives. Vander Hill, who has worked at Meriter for almost a decade, said she joined the strike because she wants to see change from management to ensure safety and security are prioritized.
“This is my dream job, and I would like to retire at Meriter someday,” Vander Hill said at the press conference. “Helping a new mother breastfeed at 3 a.m., or teaching a father how to do skin-to-skin with his newborn or helping an adoptive family feed their precious baby for the very first time — these moments are etched into my soul.”
Audrey Willems Van Dijk, a perinatal nurse, said she would like to provide the best possible care at Meriter without sacrificing her health and well-being.
“Our patients deserve care that reflects the impacts of these moments in their lives. Despite being asked to do more with less every day, we continue to offer that care,” Willems Van Dijk said at the press conference.
One of the union’s demands for safety is installing a metal detector, which Meriter said they would do by the end of the summer, according to psychiatric nurse and member of the collective bargaining team Amber Anderson.
Though Meriter has had the equipment in the basement for at least four years, they said they did not have the appropriate space or staff to operate the machinery, Anderson said.
“My specific experience has been that [administration members] are very resistant to wanting to work with us,” Anderson said.
Vander Hill and Anderson both said they are scared to go to work, partly because of insufficient security measures.
“Every day in nursing, I say, ‘I can do this scared.’ Every day, I do, and I wish I didn't have to,” Vander Hill said.
Democratic figures and politicians, including Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wilker, Dane County Executive Melissa Agard and Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, also attended the strike, voicing their support for the nurses.
