ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) —

Mission Hospital and Mission Nurses United, the union representing the nurses, did not reach an agreement on a new contract before an earlier labor deal expired on July 2, the stalemate increasing the possibility of a strike, even though more bargaining sessions are planned.

Mission Hospital employs about 1,600 nurses, all of whom are represented by NNOC/NNU in contract negotiations, a National Nurses United spokesperson said.

‘NOBODY WANTS STRIKE TO BE THE END GOAL’ NURSE SAYS

Below are some of the other numbers related to Mission Hospital, Mission Nurses United and the contract negotiations:

  • 448: The number of job openings at Mission in May compared to 302 openings in February of this year, according to National Nurses United
  • 3: The number of years since the nurses voted to unionize
  • $1.5 billion: How much HCA Healthcare paid for the Mission Health system in 2019
  • 10,000: The number of union nurses at nine HCA bargaining tables in six states working on contracts, according to a flyer from the National Nurses Organizing Committee
  • 10: The number of days notice nurses must give before beginning a strike
  • 5: The number of “strike schools” the union has planned for Mission nurses to learn more about a potential strike
  • 5: The minimum number of days the hospital can get contract labor

CLOCK TICKING ON TALKS TO AVERT NURSES’ STRIKE AT MISSION HOSPITAL

The union did not have information about the average age of nurses at Mission.

“Mission does have a wide range of experience levels in the nursing staff, which is essential for high-quality patient care,” the NNU spokesperson said.

Mission Hospital has given staff a frequently-asked-questions flyer to provide nurses with more information about a possible strike.

Mission Health issued the following statement related to questions about the number of vacancies and salary information:

“Vacancies vary, however, we are always actively recruiting and offering generous sign-on bonuses for some positions. Salaries vary, however, under the hospital’s current wage proposal, many RNs would receive total increases between 11.5% and 12.5% over the life of the contract. We have repeatedly explained our proposal to the union and it is disappointing, but not surprising, that they are intentionally misrepresenting our proposal to serve their own interests. In addition to our current wage increase offer, Mission also gave a $20 million increase to annual wages in 2022 outside and above the current contract,” spokesperson Nancy Lindell said.