Five Years Post-COVID: Nurses Continue Their Fight for Rights

This story was originally reported by The 19th.

Taylor Crittenden, a nurse in Texas, has vivid memories of the initial COVID-19 surge, marked by staffing shortages and inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE). Long hours became the norm as hospitals filled with patients. “I was impacted by seeing all these people lose their lives,” she reflects, embodying the frustration many frontline workers felt. The emotional burden was immense, compounded by a lack of managerial support.

Fast forward to two years later, Crittenden stood with hundreds of her colleagues at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, voting to unionize. This movement signals a shift in power within the nursing industry, largely comprised of women, as they secure recognition for their crucial role during the pandemic. Nurses have repeatedly called for protections against the challenges posed by resource limitations and escalating burnout.

As the five-year anniversary of the pandemic’s inception approaches, members of National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union for registered nurses, reflect on their progress and the hurdles that remain. “What we saw during COVID-19 is a radicalization of this workforce,” remarked Michelle Mahon, NNU’s director of nursing practice. Nurses are fighting not only for their patients but for their own safety and well-being.

The unionization landscape has changed significantly since 2019, with nearly 590,000 hospital nurses now represented. NNU reports that at least 10,000 nurses have unionized at more than two dozen healthcare facilities since March 2020, highlighting a growing trend.

In North Carolina, Kelly Coward helped unionize Mission Hospital in 2020, marking a critical milestone as the state’s first private hospital to form a union. Coward and her colleagues experienced firsthand the strain of inadequate supplies and overwhelming workloads during the pandemic. “Some nurses retired early. Some left for travel jobs,” she noted, emphasizing the staffing crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 outbreak. The union’s establishment provided a platform for these nurses to advocate collectively for better working conditions.

Industry experts have long pointed to systemic issues such as low wages and increased patient loads as sources of frustration within the nursing community. “They were being asked to work harder and longer hours without the resources needed,” commented Kate L. Bronfenbrenner from Cornell University. The pandemic intensified these challenges, drawing attention to the need for reform.

Meanwhile, Liz Wade recalls incidents where management denied nurses appropriate PPE, putting their safety at risk. In one case, nurses who demanded N95 masks faced suspension, an ordeal that prompted urgent action from their union to restore protocol and safety.

In recent years, several successful unionization efforts have made headlines. Notable victories include nurses at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis in Wichita, Kansas, who voted to unionize in 2022, alongside similar actions in Louisiana. Jessa Lingel, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, highlights a shift in the perception of union members, noting an increasing presence of women in leadership roles within organized labor.

Despite successful union campaigns, challenges remain. Lengthy negotiations for initial contracts and resistance from employers have led to strikes, including Crittenden’s organization in Austin. Political dynamics further complicate the labor landscape. Recent actions by the Trump administration, such as weakening labor protections, threaten to create additional obstacles for nursing unions striving for recognition and rights.

As the healthcare industry faces potential budget cuts and a looming staffing crisis, many nurses continue to advocate for their profession. “The union has been the only effective tool we’ve had to drive meaningful change,” Branciforte said, underscoring the importance of collective action moving forward.