klbackus

I'm sorry to hear that the nurses voted against having a stronger voice through a union. But it's really not a surprise--CNA leaders have been spending so much of their time and members' dues attempting to decertify and interfere in the elections of other unions, namely SEIU. This is a good example why division among nursing unions only benefits hospital adminstration. See my post: Unite nurses don't divide us

This is very common and is just a drop in the bucket in what hospitals will do to prevent nurses from forming a union. Some of what is done is legally permissible, sometimes not. It's a much different atmosphere when hospitals and unions agree to free and fair election procedures, where employees have the chance to make up their own minds without fear and intimidation. But that doesn't happen nearly enough. That's why there are efforts to change federal law (and those that set and administer them).

I admit, I'm fairly new at the blogoshere. I get frustrated with typing in tiny windows and deciphering emotions via smileys :loveya: and not-so-smileys :angryfire. I'd much rather talk to someone face to face. If I am hostile to anyone, I truly don't mean to be. It's really not my nature. But in this thread alone I've been accused of trolling for e-mails and asked how much I'm being paid. I've been transparent about who I work for--which is more than I know about anybody here, frankly. I guess with that transparancy I've lost the ability to say things that I (nurse, woman, mother, voter, etc.) truly feel, like "unite nurses, don't divide us." I'd love to share my personal thoughts on the ups and downs of nursing, how I got into the labor movement, and why I've been a die-hard supporter of Barack Obama long before it became the popular thing to do or before SEIU endorsed him. Maybe when I can voice something without being personally attacked I'll do that.

Julia, I appreciate your comments. I agree with you in many ways and I hope there is a resolution to the SEIU/CNA debate soon. My apologies for not responding to you earlier about the New York hospital. Here is what I was able to find out: For years we've ignored the pleas from registered nurses at Peninsula who wanted the wages, premium benefits and representation that SEIU members in New York have. But we've been working collaboratively with the UAN and never wanted to be in a situation where nurse organizations were fighting each other over already-organized nurses. But then CNA began to ramp up their already-aggressive efforts to undermine any and all of SEIU's efforts to unite nurses. In the last few months, they've mailed decertification cards to union nurses in a large number of states and even sabotaged the union elections for 8,300 nurses and hospital workers in Ohio. When NYSNA (now no longer affiliated with the UAN) enthusiastically jumped on board the CNA's union busting campaign in Ohio--and urged its members in New York to support the CNA's efforts--we finally woke up. We couldn't just sit back and sacrifice the standards our members have won in their hospitals, at their state capitols, and in their communities. Let me be clear. We did not create this situation and would prefer to use our resources to build strength to make real gains for nurses and patients. Again, SEIU President Stern has offered to sign a mutual no-raid agreement with the CNA and its allied organizations (including NYSNA) at any time, any place. We want the war to stop. Unfortunately, Rose Ann DeMoro and CNA's allies have made it clear that they don't.

not so fast, chico david rn. the overwhelming majority of rns didn't buy what the cna was peddling. they could see through the false promises of california wages and pensions that cna/nnoc has never been able to deliver outside of california. not only was the vote close among the rns who voted, but the nearly 300 rns who didn't vote at all clearly were not unhappy with their seiu representation. the only thing cna achieved was to effectively divide the nurses at the worst possible time--in the middle of contract negotiations to raise standards for nurses and patient care. in the end, there really are no winners here. no matter what the final outcome is, not a single nurse who is currently caring for patients without a union voice has one. and yes, i am an employee of seiu, but i am also a nurse. i would much rather us focus on improving staffing levels, giving more healthcare workers a voice in their hospitals, and ensuring every man, woman and child has access to quality care. don't you? as far as who got your e-mail, rn1989, i can't help you there. when you figure out how to keep e-mail addresses private let me know.

during national nurses week and throughout the year, seiu nurses feel we should be united, not divided --with other nurses, with other healthcare workers, with patient care advocates--to work for quality care. why then, is the california nurses association declaring war on nurses? we're renewing our call for an end to cna's divisive actions as the outcome of a union representation election remains in balance for 1,000 of our nurse colleagues at three las vegas hospitals. despite months of cna's lies and false promises the cna failed to capture enough votes to lure nurses away from seiu. cna's raiding in las vegas is yet another move aimed to divide nurses at a critical time when patients need us most. cna is also actively trying to decertify seiu nurses throughout california and other states. in march, the cna waged an aggressive "vote no" campaign in ohio, forcing the cancellation of union elections for 8,300 nurses and hospital workers in nine hospitals. in recent years the cna also has raided other unions or intervened in other unions' organizing drives in hawaii, illinois, missouri, tennessee, texas, and other states. this nurses week, rather than dividing the too-few nurses who already have a union voice, let's unite the 85% who don't--for our patients and our profession. for more information on cna's divisive actions, go to www.shameoncna.com. posted on behalf of my nurse colleagues in seiu

according to the press release from the hospital: for months, the cna has been mounting campaigns to persuade seiu nurses to decertify their union in hospitals in states including california, ohio, and nevada. in march, the cna sabotaged a three-year effort to win a fair process for 8,300 nurses and other workers at catholic healthcare partners (chp) hospitals in ohio to freely choose whether to form a union with seiu. just six days before chp workers were set to vote, cna organizers came to ohio to launch a vicious "vote no" campaign that ended in the cancellation of elections. maybe they should have been focusing their efforts on their own nurse members rather than wasting their dues dollars to sabotage other nurses. for more information, visit www.shameoncna.com.

This week registered nurses at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas voted out the CNA as their union in an election. The decision by Scripps nurses to eject the CNA follows contract negotiations that didn't result in real improvements for nurses or patient care. In her post on another thread, Sherwood said: This is the second attempt made by Scripps nurses to hold the CNA accountable for improving conditions for nurses at their hospital. For months, the CNA has been mounting campaigns to persuade SEIU nurses to decertify their union in hospitals in states including California, Ohio, and Nevada. In March, the CNA sabotaged a three-year effort to win a fair process for 8,300 nurses and other workers at Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) hospitals in Ohio to freely choose whether to form a union with SEIU. Just six days before CHP workers were set to vote, CNA organizers came to Ohio to launch a vicious "vote no" campaign that ended in the cancellation of elections. Maybe they should have been focusing their efforts on their own nurse members rather than wasting their dues dollars to sabotage other nurses. For more information, visit www.shameoncna.com.

there's been a lot of back and forth about what actually transpired at the labor notes conference in dearborn, michigan. i wasn't there, but registered nurse dian palmer, president of seiu healthcare wisconsin, was. in this video, she describes what happened at the nonviolent protest and calls on afl-cio president john sweeney to retract the hasty statement he released last week that accepted cna's inaccurate depiction of events. in this unedited video footage, part 1 and part 2, you see that it wasn't a bunch of "thugs" but mostly female seiu members and their families in a brief action. the interaction was spirited, like most labor union protests, and there were some heated exchanges by a few participants on both sides. but the raw video shows that the cna's claims of orchestrated violence just aren't true. a video by the labor video project also tells a different story--not just about the labor notes protest, but also about the union elections in ohio. the video features an interview with susan horne, a registered nurse with chp in cincinnati, who responds to questions from an angry conference participant concerning the protest.

Not according to the Houston Chronicle, "Union is wary of its new rival on the scene / An area leader says California Nurses group is `raiding' her local".

There's still more legal action against CNA pending, including an anti-SLAPP (which stands for strategic lawsuit against public participation) motion claiming that CNA sought the restraining order to silence free speech. See: http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2008/04/22/cnas-tro-against-seiu-tossed-by-court/

A California Superior court threw out the temporary restraining order today, dismissing it as another one of CNA's publicity stunts. See http://www.shameoncna.com/.

yeah, this nurse and respiratory therapist are real bullies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngw2qjtgw4i they were just asking the cna leaders why their organization interfered in the union election of 8,000 healthcare employees in ohio.

Maybe if CNA spent less time trying to interfere in union elections of 8,000 hospital employees in Ohio or attempting to decertify nurses represented by other unions across the country they could focus on California RNs.

My heart goes out to Linda and the other RNs at Catholic Health Partners who have had their dreams shattered by CNA--a so-call patient advocacy organization and so-called union. My nursing career has been dedicated to advancing nurses' voices in our hospitals, our communities, our state legislatures and in Congress. I've chosen to work with the Service Employees Internation Union (SEIU) because it is the best organization to advocate for professional nurses in all of these areas. The California Nurses Association (CNA) stooped to an all-time low when it interfered in a democratic election whereby 8,000 nurses and other hospital employees could choose whether or not they wanted to form a union with SEIU. Now, those caregivers are left without a voice--not SEIU, not CNA. This is just another ill-spirited maneuver that threatens our patients and our profession. Time and time again, CNA has used whatever means necessary, including lies, threats, and intimidation, to prevent healthcare employees from uniting in SEIU--these are not virtues that our profession stands for. And these tactics aren't isolated to one state, much less the state of California where 100,000 RNs are without a union. I've seen it in St. Louis, Chicago, Reno, Las Vegas, Memphis and more. Even hospital union-busting consultants don't go this low.