LCMC claims to honor the “Spirit of Charity” while giving CEO nearly $1.5M raise and refusing to improve pay for nurses at the bargaining table

In the wake of LCMC’s “Spirit of Charity Gala” last week, Registered Nurses from University Medical Center (UMC) in New Orleans, La., will hold a press conference on Friday, Oct. 16, to highlight their patient safety concerns, including short-staffing, high turnover, and wage theft, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU). NNU is the largest and fastest-growing union of registered nurses in the nation.

Who: RNs at UMC New Orleans
What: Press Conference
When: TODAY, Friday, Oct. 16, 8 a.m
Where: University Medical Center New Orleans, 2000 Canal St., near Tulane and Galvez

Despite LCMC’s claims to honor the “Spirit of Charity,” it is clear LCMC has betrayed Charity Hospital’s legacy of providing quality and accessible care for all New Orleans residents. Since opening UMC, LCMC has consistently prioritized profits over patent health, worker safety and affordable care. 

“Since 2017, UMC has not used any funds for charity care that weren’t offset by outside revenue, so 0% of UMC’s total expenses are going towards charity care,” said Terry Mogilles, RN in UMC’s Orthopedic Clinic. “Yet they still claim the legacy of Charity Hospital, where many of us worked for years, and use it as a marketing ploy.”

Nurses have been bargaining with LCMC, the parent company of UMC, for over two years. In the first year of bargaining, LCMC withheld regularly scheduled wage increases for union nurses as part of their anti-union measures. Last year, after the threat of a strike and pressure from Senator Bernie Sanders, nurses received their merit increases, but those raises averaged under 2%, well under the rate of inflation. 

In 2024, CEO Greg Feirn received a nearly $1.5M (64%) raise, bringing his total compensation for the last 10 years up to $22.4M. LCMC system-wide made $251M in net income in 2025, and has reported $227M in net income in the first half of 2026 alone. Since then, management has refused to meaningfully bargain over wages, even as costs have risen dramatically. 

“There are many reasons we decided to form our union, but a primary motivation was recruitment and retention of experienced Nurses,” said Heidi Tujague, an RN in the forensics department. “Our patients deserve a stable, committed nursing staff who are connected to our community. But what we are seeing instead is rampant turnover due to a lack of competitive wages

Earlier this year in May, nurses filed Unfair Labor Practice charges against UMC for surface bargaining and held a five-day strike, their sixth strike since forming their union in 2023.

NNOC/NNU represents more than 650 registered nurses at UMC.

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.