Fort Kent nurses unionize

Submitted by ADonahue on
Group of NMMC nurses at union election

By Chuleenan Svetvilas

National Nurse magazine - Jan | Feb | March 2024 Issue

In January, registered nurses at Northern Maine Medical Center (NMMC) in Fort Kent, Maine, voted overwhelmingly, 62 percent in favor, to join Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (MSNA/NNOC). NNOC is an affiliate of National Nurses United. 

“We are thrilled that our coworkers voted ‘Yes’ to join Maine State Nurses Association,” said Brad Martinez, RN in the intensive care unit at NMMC. “Together, we share a vision of improving the level of care our families receive in our hospital.”

Nurses at the 40-bed facility in Aroostook County, which borders New Brunswick, Canada, say they voted to join their new union because it is critical that nurses have a say in decisions about patient care and about recruitment and retention of nurses, which leads to improved patient care.

MSNA/NNOC now represents 90 nurses at Northern Maine Medical Center.

Chuleenan Svetvilas is a communications specialist at National Nurses United.