Baltimore hospital nurses make history with first-ever strike

On July 24, nurses at Ascension St. Agnes Hospital walked off the job in a powerful one-day strike organized by National Nurses United. Over 50 nurses took to the picket lines in the city’s first-ever nurses’ strike, demanding the working conditions they deserve and the patient care standards the community needs.

The Baltimore Peoples Power Assembly joined the striking nurses on the line, along with many supporters from across the city. 

The nurses at St. Agnes are fighting battles familiar to health care workers everywhere: dangerously low staffing levels and growing workloads. This has led to a deterioration in patient care that is unacceptable to the nurses at St. Agnes. Ascension is a multi-million dollar private Catholic health care system that has consistently prioritized profits over patient care and worker safety. 

The striking nurses chanted “Hey Ascension you can’t hide! We can see your greedy side!” and “Up up with the nurses! Down down with the bosses!”