Labor Leader Silent on Union-Busting in Ohio Hospitals

Alrighty then.

This rant is not asking for input from the other nurses that post here and is more of a statement and trying to just stir more trouble and doesn't seem appropriate.

I didn't think it was. I noticed a post a few days ago from someone who was involved in SEIU and they mentioned the same stuff about the CNA as this OP. Hmm.

As I understand it the catalyst for the present problems between CNA/NNOC and the SEIU is the failure of the Catholic Healthcare Partners , nurses to have a vote to join a union .
The SEIU argument is that the CNA/NNOC involvement caused the vote to be cancelled .
The CNA/NNOC contention is that the SEIU , had agreed to a vote as the chosen union of the employers.
Having read various sources ( SEIU , CNA/NNOC own web sites ,other blogs and newspaper reports) here is my interpretation of the events ( for what it is worth ) .
a) The SEIU and Catholic Healthcare Partners [ CHP ] Nurses had been trying to organize unionization for 3 years and had not been able to gain enough support for a vote .
b) The SEIU agreed with the CHP management to have a vote , during the time leading up to the vote , the Nurse would not be able to discuss the forthcoming election , and that the only union they could vote for was the SEIU .
c) The CNA/NNOC sent organizers to Ohio , their concern being that they felt a management union was being set up , which contravenes NLRB laws .
d) Due to the intervention of the CNA/NNOC , the CHP management cancelled the vote .
I originally started nursing in the UK , where at that time all nurses were unionized and still are as far as I am aware .So I have no doubt of the benefits of working in a unionized environment . I also understand some of the frustrations of the Nurse who identify themselves as SEIU organizers and their emotional involvement in what has occurred.
But I must ask some questions :-
i) How many / what percentage of the nurses at the CHP hospitals had registered their interest in union representation , prior to the Employer filing for the vote ?
ii)Why would you want to vote for a union , that your management is happy enough with , to file for a vote for union representation . ( I am very suspicious of a Union that has to accept an agreement from management , rather than obtaining consent with enough future members ,in order to file for a vote upon future representation ) ?
iii)If CHP cancelled the vote why did the SEIU , not file for a vote regardless of CHP’s withdrawal of support for a vote. By agreeing to the vote that CHP filed for , the SEIU must have been confident of enough rank and file support for a positive outcome?
iv) What is the problem with CNA/NNOC ( or any other union )sending organizers to the CHP hospitals , the SEIU would have been able to use its relationships with its local supporters to ensure a victory in a contested election .I cannot understand how any participant in the democratic process can claim to be democratic , if they wish to limit participation in a vote .
Going to the OP point re. What happened at the Labor Notes meeting ,I would direct you to http://labornotes.org/2008conferencehighlights Conference-Goers Push for Labor Solidarity, Rebound From Disruption , article titled “Conference-Goers Push for Labor Solidarity, Rebound From Disruption”, In which the organizers of the conference give their independent opinion of the events . Theirs is an unbiased opinion , they are supporters of the labor movement not the SEIU or CNA/NNOC .

You got it almost on target I have 2 things to add:

1. CNA/NNOC already has and has had people in Ohio since 2004. CNA sent some support to assist us- all total 22 people to leaflet 9 hospitals.
2. Less than a handful -15 of 8,000 workers supported SEIU this was clear immediatly. SEIU cites an example where 100's of people held a rally in Springfield as a fact that they had support of the workers. The Springfield paper reported in 2005 that the majority of atttendees were bussed in from out of town. SEIU has the capability of producing large crowds via bus as in Michigan. If SEIU had organized workers at each of these hospitals instead of making a deal with the boss the election would not have blown to dust because 3 (each location) people handed out some flyers.

P.S. We could not even flyer Urbana and Fountain only got minimal attention because there were so few of us.

Was it a raid?

SEIU philosophy - increase union density at all costs even if it means bellying up with the employer.

SEIU M.O. - identify a hospital system (lots of employees), crucify them with a corporate campaign, bring them to their knees, then say "lets make a deal". The "system" can't take anymore bad publicity and SEIU offers them a deal with a gag in which SEIU (members) will not speak out negatively about the employer.

This is an outrageous conflict with the nurses' professional responsibility of patient advocacy. Furthermore, discouraging (forbidding) healthcare workers from speaking out about unsafe conditions is the biggest threat to patient safety. This is a travesty, SEIU should be ashamed.

Was it a raid in Ohio or was it a RESCUE???

That hardly seems like a 'rant'....rather, it appears to be a statement that depicts CNA as the 'union buster' it is.

Here's the response by the California courts this afternoon to some of CNA's histrionics:
Week of 4/21 Talking Points on SEIU and CNA – Updated 4/22 p.m.

On the temporary restraining order filed by CNA
·A California Superior court (Tues. 4/22) vacated the unlawful temporary restraining order against SEIU and Andy Stern filed last week as a publicity stunt by CNA. The court had issued the TRO even though SEIU and Andy Stern had no notice or an opportunity to be heard in court. The decision came after SEIU presented the court on Mon. 4/21 with video footage of the innocuous events that CNA has falsely characterized as “harassment” and also after SEIU filed an anti-Strategic Lawsuit to Prevent Public Participation (SLAPP) motion against the CNA to prevent CNA from further efforts to silence critics of its divisive tactics.
·Background: In obtaining the TRO, CNA falsely characterized efforts by workers to engage with CNA leadership over the union's anti-union tactics as "harassment." Video footage shows that what the CNA called "5 male staffers harassing CNA Board members" was actually a nonunion registered nurse and respiratory therapist – two middle-aged women - from Ohio going door-to-door to try to speak to CNA leadership. (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGw2QJTgw4I). These two female healthcare workers were engaging in the same kind of door to door canvassing that they have previously engaged in as volunteers for charitable organizations such as the Leukemia Fund and candidates for political office.

WHO did they rescue? Certainly not the 5,000 non-RN employees of CHP!
They prevented over 8.000 CHP employees from having their say in a free and fair election---
SEIU is a social union, concerned with, among other social issues, 'nurses professional responsibility of patient advocacy'.....to say that they are not demonstrates, at best, lack of information. I can address this with knowledge and experience, as I am an RN, patient advocate, nurse advocate, AND SEIU member....

Open your mind and check it out: http://www.shameoncna.com/

Hardly as cut and dry as you might like to make it seem:
http://www.calnurses.org/assets/pdf/...letter_mna.pdf

As a victim of violence inflicted upon me personally by SEIU on at least 2 seperate occasions in the past 60 days I can tell you- I will be seeking my own restraining order against SEIU!