Nurses at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital vote to authorize strike
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Nurses at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, represented by the Service Employees International Union, have voted to authorize a strike.
According to the nurses' union, they have become alarmed by UPMC closing dozens of beds throughout the hospital due to understaffing, saying that their policies have undermined the ability to handle a growing mental health and substance abuse crisis in the Pittsburgh area.
"This is very personal for me – I became a psych nurse because I have two younger brothers with autism, so I believe strongly in advocating for my patients," said Zachariah Flynn a nurse at Western Psychiatric Hospital for more than 11 years. ""When I first started, we had 28 beds in our unit, with one wing serving children, one wing serving adolescents and another wing serving adults. Now, UPMC has completely shut down the units for kids and adolescents due to understaffing and we're reduced to only 11 beds. We can't admit a lot of the patients seeking care and so they have to wait months for backlogged outpatient appointments."
Along with voting to authorize a strike, they are also planning to hold a "Rally for Mental Healthcare" on October 16 from 4:30-5:30 p.m.
"We are in an all-out, national mental health emergency and UPMC's lack of investment has seriously curtailed Western Psych's capacity to face this crisis," said Dr. Kenneth Thompson, a psychiatrist both in Pittsburgh and nationally. "We were in deep trouble before the pandemic and it's even worse now. We must have all hands on deck to meet the needs and address the suffering in our communities."
The nurses' union and UPMC have been in contract negotiations since August 1 and have made proposals for improving patient care, minimum staffing, and higher wages for entry-level nurses to help retain nurses.
Their contract expired on September 30th.
UPMC has issued the following statement:
"UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital is committed to supporting our employees, patients and community. Contract negotiations between the parties are ongoing, and the hospital continues to bargain in good faith."