MountainView RN Election Set July 21-22

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 26 Jun 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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An election date has now been set for July 21 and 22 in the campaign by registered nurses at HCA's MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas to be represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, the nation's pre-eminent professional association and union for RNs.

The National Labor Relations Board will conduct the election.

"I'm excited to have an election date and look forward to voting for CNA NNOC," said MountainView RN Edna Suarez.

The RNs are seeking to affiliate with CNA/NNOC to strengthen their ability to advocate for improved patient care, and enhanced RN standards to promote RN recruitment and retention at the hospital. Some 450 RNs are potentially eligible to vote at the hospital. CNA/NNOC already represents more than 1,700 Nevada RNs, including those working at the St. Rose system in Las Vegas.

"MountainView HCA RNs are finally uniting to have a greater voice for positive change for our profession and for our patients. This will affect the future of healthcare in our community for the better," said Marlena Mattes, an RN at the facility.

Staffing problems exist in units across the hospital, says CNA/NNOC, including RNs too often assigned up to seven patients in general medical and surgical units and up to three acutely ill patients in intensive care. In addition to the short staffing, RNs are "floated" - assigned to work units outside of their expertise regardless of the potential risk that creates for patients - and if they object to these practices can be disciplined without any representation.

MountainView RNs believe that they can be most effective as patient advocates if they address these issues collectively. Unfortunately, hospital management has been waging a vehement campaign against the RNs, spending substantial resources, dollars better spent on patient care delivery, to interfere with the right of RNs to discuss representation, flooding units with anti-union fliers, and even attempting to interrogate them about they will vote and pulling them away from patients to intimidate them, says CNA/NNOC.

The RNs are calling on hospital management to respect the democratic right of the nurses to vote on whether or not to affiliate with CNA/NNOC in a fair atmosphere free of intimidation and harassment.

Source
California Nurses Association

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