Nurses at Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health and Methodist hospitals are planning to unionize to address staffing issues, WFYI reported Dec. 8.
"I think people are just kind of done with the care they have had to give the past couple of years, and we want to make a better change for Indiana," Addie Armes, RN, an ICU nurse at University Hospital told the outlet.
She is part of the group aiming to unionize the system's nearly 1,000 nurses. So far, a group of around 300 are interested.
However, the system does not want the nurses to unionize.
"IU Health respects team members' right to explore joining a union, but IU Health desires to remain a non-union work environment and does not feel a union is in the best interest of our nurses or patients," a spokesperson for the health system told Becker's. "IU Health is committed to safe, high-quality care and clinical outcomes, and providing nurses with a voice in decision-making through a shared governance model. As part of normal compensation practice, IU Health continues to adjust pay for nursing and other critical clinical positions to ensure wages are competitive to recruit and retain the best talent to care for patients. Pay and staffing remain top priorities as we work to serve our team members."