Organizing: Know your rights

Submitted by ADonahue on

(Video) Tenet nurses, "We can organize and win anywhere!"

You have a legal right to organize under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), a federal labor law. In the case of many public hospitals, state law that is similar to the NLRA governs the process.

Your rights

You have the right to:

  • Sign an NNOC/NNU card and attend meetings to discuss NNOC/NNU.
  • Talk to other nurses about NNOC/NNU during work time just as you are allowed to discuss other personal matters such as soccer games or your children.
  • Hand out written materials on nonwork time (breaks, etc.) in nonwork areas such as the cafeteria, locker rooms, and nurses’ lounge.
  • Post NNOC/NNU materials on general-purpose bulletin boards, distribute in mailboxes, etc.

It is illegal for your employer to require you to discuss your feelings about NNOC/NNU or to discipline you in any way for exercising your rights to join or support NNOC/NNU.

Anti-union employer campaigns

Most hospitals hire professional consultants to try and stop nurses from organizing. Hospitals typically pay consultants $3,000 – $4,000 per day! Despite these consultants, RNs have won 93 percent of their NNOC/NNU elections. When nurses are united in their desire to organize, they have had great success in defeating these campaigns.

For more information on anti-union campaigns, request the NNOC/NNU publication: Navigating Through an Anti-Union Campaign. Contact NNOC/NNU here.

Organized RNs speak

Sofia Rivera, RN

 

“As union members, we feel empowered to use our voices and advocate for ourselves. We have pushed back against an administration and company that has mistreated and undervalued nurses for a long time. Since we joined CNA, one of the biggest changes has been a more competitive pay scale. Also, during the pandemic, CNA has been there to demand management step up and work harder to protect all of us.”

— Sofia Rivera, RN
West Anaheim Medical Center, Anaheim, Calif.