A union for Allegheny General Hospital nurses has been authorized to strike as of October 18. The strike comes after nurses working on low pay and staff shortages.

Hundreds of nurses are expected to strike as they demand better pay and having Allegheny Health Network address ongoing staff shortages that have left many nurses overworked. This comes as during the COVID-19 pandemic when nurses were left working overtime and facing burnout from the constant demand for care.

While the strike is unprecedented, healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente have also gone on strike. Their reasons for striking are the same as the nurses at Allegheny General Hospital.

According to the AGH nurses, they are seeking a contract with a $40-an-hour minimum wage and an increase in mid-career and senior nurses’ pay.

RN and union officer Annale Yobbi said, “You just can’t have new nurses out of school coming into a building by themselves. They need experienced staff there to learn, grow, and improve to be the best nurses they can be to these patients.”

Another RN, Natalya Rodrigues, stated the strike is not just for nurses but how “we need safer conditions for our patients.” There has been increasing emphasis that when nurses are burned out due to staff shortages, they worry the quality may suffer as patients may not get the help as fast as possible.

Allegheny General Hospital has given a statement about the strike saying, “This authorization gives the bargaining committee the authority to issue a 10-day strike notice if they feel it’s appropriate. We are hopeful that, as in the past, this will not be necessary, and we look forward to continuing constructive dialogue with SEIU until an agreement is researched.”

Negotiations are set to happen for the week and hold hopes that the strike can be avoided, provided an agreement is reached in time.