RNs From Menorah Medical Center Become First Kansas Nurses To Join National Union Of Nurses

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 24 Nov 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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In a dramatic victory for the growing national movement of registered nurses, more than 300 RNs at Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park have become the first Kansas RNs to join with their colleagues around the nation, by voting overwhelmingly to align with Nurses United, the local arm of National Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association, AFL-CIO (NNOC/CNA). The election was overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and means that Nurses United will represent the RNs.

"Finally our voice will be heard with this decisive win," said Sandra Baldy, an RN at the facility. "We are very proud to unite with our 150,000 colleagues in the national nurses movement, and we are excited by the chance to make a difference for our patients and our profession with this step forward."

With the vote, the nurses unite with 150,000 RN colleagues around the country, who are committed to working together for guaranteed healthcare, strong patient advocacy, and an immediate improvement in patient care procedures, including in RN-to-patient staffing and other patient safety concerns.

"We are delighted to welcome the Menorah Medical Center nurses to NNOC," said Malinda Markowitz, RN, co-President of NNOC/CNA and a nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital, a San Jose, Calif. hospital that, like Menorah, is owned by HCA. "HCA RNs joining together is a truly exciting development that bodes well for all HCA RNs-and our patients."

The victory at Menorah will provide new momentum for December's planned convention at which the nation's three largest nursing unions plan on uniting into one organization dubbed the "RN Super Union." At that event, to be held December 7 and 8 in Arizona, CNA/NNOC will join together with the Massachusetts Nurses Association and United American Nurses to form National Nurses United, which at 150,000 members will be the largest registered nurses union and professional association in U.S. history.

Nurses from Lee's Summit Medical Center in Missouri are still waiting to see if they, too, will have the chance to join the new national union of nurses. Objections over alleged legal violations have been filed with the NLRB that may result in a new election to determine the victor.

Source
California Nurses Association

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