RNs on Capitol Hill Urge Passage of Employee Free Choice, RESPECT Act
Some 100 registered nurses (RNs) from a dozen United American Nurses (UAN) affiliates across the country were on Capitol Hill yesterday urging lawmakers to protect patient safety and workers’ rights.
They called on U.S. Senate and House members to approve legislation setting minimum RN-patient staffing levels and urged passage of the Employee Free Choice Act and the RESPECT Act (expected to be introduced later this year).
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In 2006, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision known as the Oakwood cases that redefined which workers could be classified as “supervisors” and therefore ineligible to join a union. Nurses could be especially hard hit by the ruling and some hospitals have reclassified nurses. The RESPECT Act would protect nurses and other workers from reclassification. Says UAN President Ann Converso, RN:
We are already seeing the negative impact of the Oakwood decision, which has potentially jeopardized the union rights of thousands of staff nurses who serve charge duty in their hospitals our ability as staff nurses to strongly and effectively advocate for our patients is protected by our union. That’s why it’s so important that we enact legislation like the RESPECT Act and the Employee Free Choice Act safeguarding the right of every RN at the bedside to choose a union.
Three RN Unions Join Forces in New Union
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In a move to create a powerful national voice for registered nurses, three of the largest nurse unions in the country announced today they are coming together in a new 150,000-member association.
The three groups are the United American Nurses (UAN), California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) and the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA).
The new organization will be called the United American Nurses-National Nurses Organizing Committee, UAN-NNOC (AFL-CIO), and will bring the MNA’s 23,000 members into the AFL-CIO.
A statement from the unions this morning said:
Under the principle that RNs should be represented by an RN union, we resolve to create a new union of staff nurse-led organizations named UAN-NNOC.
