Protestors brave cold snap to support striking nurses at New Orleans' UMC

Source: WWNO

WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio | By Drew Hawkins
Published November 11, 2025 at 5:45 PM CST

More than 100 people gathered Tuesday morning in front of University Medical Center (UMC) in New Orleans to support the latest strike from the hospital’s nurses.

National Nurses United (NNU) — the union representing the UMC nurses — has been negotiating new staff contracts with hospital administrators since March 2024. This is the fifth strike in just over a year.

The mantra of the crowd that braved the morning’s cold snap was: retention, retention, retention. The nurses are calling for contracts that prioritize retaining nursing staff through better pay and benefits. They say adequate staffing and more experienced nurses can help improve care and make hospitals safer for both patients and staff.

“They’re all related,” said Kisha Montes, a nurse in UMC’s behavioral health unit. “If you don’t have the staffing, people leave, because they’re being overworked and that becomes a problem. A lot of the nurses are just tired.”


Drew Hawkins

Gulf States Newsroom
UMC Nurses gather outside the hospital on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, in New Orleans. The nurses are striking for three days, asking hospital administrators to negotiate new staff contracts that prioritize staff retention, which they say can improve patient care and safety.

Read more: https://www.wwno.org/public-health/2025-11-11/protestors-brave-cold-snap-to-support-striking-nurses-at-new-orleans-umc