In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his belief that union rights are civil rights, clergy, community members and patients from the Pasadena area will gather at an Interfaith Prayer Vigil at Huntington Memorial to urge administration to stop violating the rights of its nurses and allow a fair, free union organizing campaign with the California Nurses Association (CNA).

The National Labor Relations Board has found merit with four different charges that Huntington Memorial Hospital (HMH) has been violating nurses’ federal labor rights. 

What: Interfaith Candlelight Prayer Vigil
When: Tuesday, January 20, 2015 at 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Where: Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena, CA – 100 California Blvd., On south side of California Blvd. at Fairmont between. FairOaks and Pasadena Ave.

"Over the years, we’ve seen that the ‘budget’ and ‘capturing revenue’ became more of a priority than striving for quality patient care.  Despite our efforts to advocate for adequate staffing, administration has cut corners at times in violation of the law, forcing us to do more with less. This is all despite the hospital’s soaring net income over the last several years.  We love Huntington Hospital and are proud of it’s reputation but we don’t like the direction it's going in.” 

"When we tried to speak up and form a union, many of us have had to endure illegal interrogations, surveillance, and threats of discipline for legal union activity—all in an attempt to silence our voices," Joan Hardie, RN stated. 

Pasadena City Councilmember Victor Gordo said, “Huntington Memorial Hospital is a great community hospital. We’re hopeful that they will comply with labor laws with respect to the nurses’ efforts to unionize.”

Members of Pasadena's diverse faith community, including leaders from Muslim, Jewish, and Christian traditions will be leading the vigil. Faith leaders have joined hands in the spirit of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he stated that  "Of all forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane." Each clergy member or lay leader will be bringing a prayer or ritual from their tradition to share with the community.

Since nurses began organizing with CNA, management has improved staffing in some units and provided more supplies and equipment. “Now, we want to see those improvements secured in a union contract. Without CNA representation, HMH can take back the improvements, which we saw after our last unionization efforts over 10 years ago,” Melinda Kiely, RN said.

HMH is the only hospital in Pasadena, the third largest employer in the city, and the only trauma center serving the San Gabriel Valley.