It's Official: Federal Labor Board Certifies NNOC Texas To Represent RNs At Houston Hospital

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 08 May 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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The National Labor Relations Board formally certified NNOC Texas, the Texas affiliate of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of registered nurses at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital in Houston.

With the decision, Cypress Fairbanks RNs said they will continue to move forward with plans to negotiate their first ever collective bargaining agreement - which will be yet another historic step at the first hospital in Texas where RNs have won union representation.

Today's action by the NLRB - signed in Fort Worth - culminates the campaign by Cypress Fairbanks RNs to join NNOC Texas, which is part of CNA/NNOC, the largest and fastest growing organization of RNs in the nation.

Cypress Fairbanks RNs will elect a team of members to represent them in contract talks with the hospital and its parent organization, Tenet Healthcare, and survey the RNs to identify top priority concerns for negotiations.

The decision follows a ruling on Tuesday, May 6, by a neutral arbitrator who overruled objections filed by hospital administrators to the election win by the RNs in late March.

In a statement following the arbitration decision, Cypress Fairbanks and CNA/NNOC leaders hailed the ruling and looked forward.

"We hope that the hospital turns the page, and we look forward to negotiating a great contract where we achieve a stronger voice for patient care," said Keith Merritt, an emergency room RN at Cypress Fairbanks.

"This decision means that Cypress Fairbanks RNs can immediately begin to negotiate dramatic improvements in their conditions, and to build a strong RN union that will serve as a beacon to thousands of other Texas RNs," said CNA/NNOC Organizing Director David Johnson.

California Nurses Association