Members of the National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United, and Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas, are slated to begin negotiations Nov. 17.
Negotiations are for a first contract with hospital management. Nurses at Ascension Seton Medical Center voted to unionize in September.
"We feel so excited that we have elected a bargaining team that is committed to addressing our most pressing concerns: patient safety, staffing and retention of nurses," Celeste Schmid, RN, said in a Nov. 15 news release. "Nurses are committed to bringing the highest quality of care to our community, and we feel strongly we can do that through our contract."
The National Nurses Organizing Committee represents about 3,300 nurses in Texas, including about 900 at Ascension Seton. Ascension Seton is part of St. Louis-based Ascension.
In a statement shared with Becker's, Ascension said, "We are committed to negotiating in good faith with the nurse members of the bargaining unit of National Nurses United on a new contract for Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin. We look forward to a collaborative dialogue at the bargaining table."