Today, registered nurses at Research Psychiatric Center (RPC) in Kansas City voted to join National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU).

On Jan. 30 and 31, nurses at RPC voted in a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board to join NNOC/NNU, one of the fastest-growing unions for registered nurses in the nation.

With this vote, the nurses join their 750 RN colleagues at Research Medical Center (RMC) who have been members of NNOC/NNU since 2010. RMC is an HCA Midwest Health hospital.

NNOC/NNU will represent some 70 RNs at RPC.

“Nurses deserve a voice in our facility because we are the ones at the bedside and we know what our patients need,” said Yolanda Morrison, an RN at RPC. “Joining the union means that we will have a say in patient care decisions.”

“As nurses, we are an incredibly powerful force, and by joining NNOC/NNU, we can collectively advance our profession,” said Elly Haldiman, an RN at RPC. “With our collective voice we can be more effective advocates for our patients and ourselves.”

“Joining NNOC will make sure our patients get the best possible care,” said Joe Crain, an RN at RPC. “By being part of a union, nurses will have the protection and tools we need to advocate for optimal staffing levels and resources we need to take care of our patients.” 

Key issues for the RNs in voting to join NNOC/NNU include:

• the desire for a stronger collective voice on patient care issues, including advocacy for optimal staffinglevels
• workplace violence protection from assault, verbal abuse, and physical harm
• the establishment of a Professional Practice Committee of nurses to ensure nurses have a voice on patient care issues.

“We are so happy our RN colleagues at RPC will be joining us at RMC as members of NNOC/NNU, along with thousands of union nurses across the country,” said Cheryl Rodarmel, an RN at Research Medical Center. “We stand arm in arm with RPC nurses.”

The next step is for the RNs to elect a team of their colleagues to represent them in talks for their first collective bargaining agreement with hospital management.

National Nurses Organizing Committee is a national union and professional organization for registered nurses, advance practice nurses, and RN organizations who want to pursue a more powerful agenda of advocacy, promoting the interests of patients, direct care nurses, and RN professional practice. NNOC was launched by the California Nurses Association, and together with CNA belongs to National Nurses United.