From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— Nurses at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison have filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board against their employer alleging violations of federal labor laws, SEIU Wisconsin announced.
The union yesterday said the charges include failing to engage in legally required negotiations, discriminating against nurses by barring union information while allowing non-union information, “destroying and confiscating” union materials and threatening to discipline nurses for unionization efforts.
The move follows the NLRB moving to certify the union election for hundreds of nurses at the hospital, who voted by an 89% margin in favor of unionizing in June.
“SSM should be investing in staffing, support and retention of nurses, not wasting time and resources fighting our union, which is our voice to speak up for our patients,” Hannah Joers, a nurse in the Cardiac Cath Lab at St. Mary’s Hospital, said in a statement provided by the union.
In response to the union’s allegations, a spokesperson for SSM Health said the employer isn’t violating federal labor law and believes “there are unresolved questions” about the election process that should be reviewed by the NLRB.
“That is why we have appealed the Regional Director’s decision to the full Board,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “We believe collective bargaining should await the outcome of our appeals.”
The spokesperson said SSM Health disagrees with several characterizations made in the union’s release but shares a “common goal of supporting high-quality patient care and a positive work environment” for its employees.
Meanwhile, 380 nurses at SSM Health Dean Medical Group clinics in Dane County are set to vote on unionizing later this month.
See more in recent coverage, and see the union’s release below.
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