Reps. Lee, Deluzio, Khanna Press UPMC to Bargain in Good Faith With Nearly 900 Magee Healthcare Workers

October 2, 2026 Press Release Letter Text (PDF) PITTSBURGH, PA – October 2, 2026 — Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12) alongside Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA-17) and Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17), called on The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) to bargain in good faith with nearly 900 nurses, nurse practitioners, and midwives at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital who have spent approximately eight months negotiating their first union contract. In a letter to UPMC President and CEO Leslie Davis, the lawmakers raised concerns they have heard from workers and organizers about staffing levels, excessive workloads, and conditions that healthcare professionals say can make it harder to provide patients with the level of care they deserve. The lawmakers specifically pointed to reports that nurses are routinely responsible for more patients than nationally recognized clinical standards recommend, including instances in which one labor and delivery nurse may be responsible for two or three patients even though professional staffing standards call for dedicated nursing care for a patient in active labor. “For approximately eight months, nearly 900 health care professionals at UPMC Magee have been negotiating for a contract that reflects the critical role they play in caring for patients and families throughout western Pennsylvania,” the lawmakers wrote. “These workers have raised serious concerns about inadequate staffing, excessive workloads, and conditions that prevent them from consistently providing the level of care their patients deserve. UPMC has a responsibility to listen to these frontline professionals and work constructively to resolve their concerns without unnecessary delays.” Contract negotiations between UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Physicians, and SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania began in January. UPMC reported that the parties held their 38th bargaining session on September 22 and have reached tentative agreements on several issues as negotiations continue. These staffing concerns come as Allegheny County continues to face serious racial disparities in maternal health . In 2023, the rate of preventable hospitalizations among Black women was 3.3 times higher than among White women in Allegheny County. The disparities are especially stark in Pittsburgh, where previous reports found that Black women were more likely to die during pregnancy than their peers in 97% of comparable U.S. cities. Rep. Lee has made confronting the Black maternal health crisis a focus of her work in Congress, including pressing HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during Black Maternal Health Week over threats to maternal health research and community-based programs, joining congressional efforts to expand access to midwifery care, and strongly supporting the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act to invest in community-based care, strengthen and diversify the perinatal workforce, improve maternal health data collection, and expand maternal mental health support. In their letter, Reps. Lee, Deluzio, and Khanna emphasized that safe staffing and workplace protections are critical to patient safety, retaining experienced healthcare workers, reducing exhaustion and burnout, and ensuring hospitals can respond effectively to emergencies. “UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital is a vital institution that generations of western Pennsylvanians have relied upon for obstetric, neonatal, reproductive, and specialized health care,” the lawmakers wrote. “We will continue to monitor UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital actions closely and strongly encourage UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, in accordance with the law, to bargain a fair contract in good faith with these workers.” Workers at Magee have publicly advocated for staffing standards based on recommendations from national professional organizations. Those proposals include dedicated nursing care for patients who are laboring or being induced, as well as staffing standards for neonatal intensive care, postpartum care, emergency care, oncology, and other hospital units. The full letter can be read HERE and letter text is below: September 22, 2026 Leslie C. Davis President and Chief Executive Officer University of Pittsburgh Medical Center U.S. Steel Tower 600 Grant Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Dear Ms. Davis: We write to urge the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) to bargain in good faith, as required by federal law, with the nurses, nurse practitioners, and midwives at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. As you know, workers have a right to organize and advocate for improvements in their wages and working conditions, as well as engage in protected concerted activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). We have received troubling reports from our constituents and organizers that nurses are routinely assigned more patients than nationally recognized clinical standards recommend. Nurses have described situations in which a single labor and delivery nurse may be responsible for two or three patients, even though established standards call for a patient in active labor to receive dedicated nursing care. For approximately eight months, nearly 900 health care professionals at UPMC Magee have been negotiating for a contract that reflects the critical role they play in caring for patients and families throughout western Pennsylvania. These workers have raised serious concerns about inadequate staffing, excessive workloads, and conditions that prevent them from consistently providing the level of care their patients deserve. UPMC has a responsibility to listen to these frontline professionals and work constructively to resolve their concerns without unnecessary delays. Safe staffing and other workplace protections are fundamental to patient safety, retaining experienced nurses, protecting workers from exhaustion and burnout, and ensuring that hospitals remain prepared to respond to emergencies. UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital is a vital institution that generations of western Pennsylvanians have relied upon for obstetric, neonatal, reproductive, and specialized health care. We will continue to monitor UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital actions closely and strongly encourage UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, in accordance with the law, to bargain a fair contract in good faith with these workers. Thank you for your attention to these issues. Sincerely, Summer Lee Member of Congress Chris Deluzio Member of Congress Ro Khanna Member of Congress Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Judiciary and the Committee on Education and Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, she has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.7 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 4,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.