Nurses at University Medical Center New Orleans are once again going on strike as contract negotiations with their employer continue to break down.
The union representing UMC nurses announced the five-day strike in a press release on Tuesday. The strike is scheduled to start on Friday, May 1.
According to the nurses' union, the strike comes after a charge against UMC was filed with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing hospital leadership of bad-faith bargaining and dragging out contract negotiations.
Talks over a new contract between the nurses' union at UMC and LCMC, the healthcare system that owns UMC, began in March 2024. The new round of strikes marks the sixth walkout since UMC nurses voted to unionize nearly two and a half years ago.
"Nurses urge management to engage in good-faith bargaining and agree to a contract that addresses issues like recent findings that UMCNO has the longest emergency room wait times in the state," the union representing UMC nurses said in the press release.
The University Medical Center New Orleans released the following statement:
"Today, the union representing most registered nurses and nurse practitioners at University Medical Center (UMC) gave notice of its five-day strike from May 1-5, 2026. This is the sixth strike called by National Nurses United (NNU) since October 2024.
Despite ongoing negotiations and UMC’s continued efforts to bargain in good faith, NNU has chosen to strike once again. NNU is acting unlawfully, as UMC has already alleged in an unfair labor practice charge filed in 2025. UMC is deciding whether to file an additional unfair labor practice charge against NNU for its continued unlawful behavior. Despite NNU's conduct, UMC remains committed to engaging in good-faith bargaining, including in the four additional collective bargaining sessions scheduled in the next two months.
As with previous strikes, the hospital will remain fully operational and continue delivering uninterrupted care. We have proactively partnered with an experienced outside agency to ensure qualified replacement nurses are available to support patient care and uphold our standards of excellence.
Our dedicated team continues to serve our community with compassion and professionalism, and we have full confidence in our ability to do so during this strike. UMC remains committed to providing the highest quality care to every patient and to reaching a fair and reasonable agreement through continued good-faith negotiations."
Source: wwltv.com
