Contact: Karen Backus, RN 
404.229.7592    
                                                                              
Interference in Effort to Form Union
Management Misconduct Preventing Fair, Free Election 
                                                               
Naples, FL--Nurses at Naples Community Healthcare System are filing charges today against hospital management in response to management’s attempts to pressure nurses not to form an independent organization for staff RNs.

The charges accuse the hospital of unlawfully interfering with nurses’ freedom to form their own organization. Federal law protects healthcare workers’ right to form organizations to advocate for their common concerns.

“It’s disappointing that it’s come to this, but the hospital has left us with no choice. Their behavior has made it impossible for us to have a legitimate election or even a fair discussion of the issues,” said Tracy Rogers, a registered nurse in Pre-Admissions. “It’s time to hold the hospital accountable.”

NCH management has:

• Selectively enforced policy and altered previous practice to prevent nurses from discussing union representation. They’ve prevented nurses from displaying information on hospital bulletin boards or wearing pro-union stickers even though they’re allowed by law and by hospital policy.
• Threatened and intimidated pro-union nurses. Managers targeted pro-union nurses, threatening them with job-related action and discipline because of union support.
• Surveilled pro-union nursing staff. Pro-union nurses have been explicitly informed by supervisors that they are under surveillance and being watched. Photos of pro-union nurses were circulated by managers for identification purposes.
• Prohibited pro-union nurses from bringing food into the cafeteria and break areas. NCH prevented nurses from bringing a cake and cupcakes into the hospital cafeteria saying it would unfairly compete with hospital sales at the same time Sam’s Club and Costco were allowed to distribute baked goods.

Management’s negative behavior hasn’t escaped notice by the greater Naples community. To date, over 2,000 Naples residents have signed a petition supporting the nurses’ union voice and urging hospital management to end their antics.

“A majority of us support a patient care voice for nurses, and the community is with us,” said Mary Villani, a registered nurse in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. “We urged management to act professionally and allow us our democratic right to decide on a union for ourselves, free from intimidation. They couldn’t abide by that simple request.”

The unfair labor practice charges were filed at the NLRB’s Miami office this morning. Upon reviewing the charges, the board will conduct an investigation to determine whether a union election can be conducted in a fair way and if any corrective action is needed to ensure that nurses can freely make an informed choice about union representation.