SEARCH
Day One in Week of Action: Fighting the Threat of the Labor Board |
|
Gene Hickman, a nurse for 18 years at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Ore., understands the value of belonging to a union. He also knows management is chipping away at nurses’ rights. Seven months ago, his hospital tried to reclassify the assistant unit managers (charge nurses) as management, a move that would exclude them from the bargaining unit.
In response, the nurses from his local union, District 14 of the Oregon Nurses Association, signed a petition asserting they would resign as charge nurses to remain part of the bargaining unit if the decision went through. After six months, management rescinded the order.
Now, Hickman and the charge nurses face an even bigger threat: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is about to rule on a set of cases that could bar them and hundreds of thousands of workers across the nation from joining unions.
In more than 19 cities this week, nurses such as Hickman, as well as building and construction trades workers, journalists and others, are rallying to demand the Bush-backed NLRB protect their rights. The NLRB is poised to rule on cases that could redefine “supervisor” to include almost anyone who gives instructions to another worker. Unlike other employees, supervisors are not allowed to join unions, and employers often try to classify workers as supervisors to deny them the right to union representation and collective bargaining.
Today in Bangor, Maine, workers will show solidarity with the employees of Eastern Maine Medical Center who are trying to gain a voice at work for better pay and working conditions. Actions also are planned in Nashville, Tenn. In Eugene, Ore., AFL-CIO Organizing Director Stewart Acuff will join with union members and their allies for a rally at the Federal Building to protest the NLRB’s anti-worker decisions to highlight the importance to workers of the supervisory decisions pending at the NLRB.
Yesterday, on the first day of the week of action, more than 70 people in Tampa, Fla., turned what was supposed to be a scheduled press conference into a rally for workers’ rights. In Seattle, union members and their allies joined with nurses for a rally at the Virginia Mason Medical Center to protest an attempt by management to silence registered nurses’ voices. Workers also rallied in San Diego and Des Moines, Iowa, to support the freedom of workers to join a union.
Says Hickman:
A union gives me a forum to voice my feelings and opinions….That’s the best thing. All that translates into good benefits and good wages which lead to morale and good patient care. There is no better way to a patient advocate than to be a nurse advocate.
By broadening the legal definition of “supervisor,” these cases, collectively known as “Kentucky River,” could significantly take away contract protections for workers represented by unions and deny even more their right to organize reversing decades of worker protections.
Meanwhile, the NLRB has refused to hear oral arguments on the Kentucky River cases—and has heard no oral arguments since the Bush administration took office. In fact, the NLRB denied union requests to hear oral arguments in these cases.
You can act now and contact your members of Congress to tell Bush’s labor board to reverse its decision and allow oral arguments in the “Kentucky River” cases.
On Thursday, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) will lead a rally in Portland. The same day, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson will join with Washington, D.C.-area union members and community and religious leaders to rally at NLRB headquarters.
No Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
