RNs at St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s Hospitals Seek to Strengthen Patient Care with Their Collective Advocacy

Registered Nurses at Tucson, Arizona hospitals, St. Joseph’s Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital, have voted to join National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU).

Nurses at St. Joseph’s Hospital voted 293-110, or 73 percent, to be represented by NNOC/NNU in a secret ballot, conducted Oct. 9, by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). On Oct. 11, nurses at St. Mary’s Hospital, voted 221-85, by 72 percent, in a secret ballot conducted by the NLRB to affiliate with NNOC/NNU.

NNOC/NNU will represent some 550 registered nurses at St. Joseph’s Hospital and 450 RNs at St. Mary’s Hospital. Both hospitals are part of the Tenet Healthcare Corporation. NNOC/NNU now represents 14 hospitals and over 6,000 RNs in four states, California, Texas, Florida, and Arizona.

“On behalf of our members nationwide, I welcome you and want you to know that we are thrilled to have you on board,” said National Nurses United Executive Director, Bonnie Castillo, RN.  “We are proud of RNs at St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s Hospitals for taking this historic step to unite with your RN colleagues to elevate standards for patients and nurses.”

“As patient advocates, we and our RN colleagues at St. Joseph’s, voted yes to join NNOC/NNU so we can have a collective RN voice to enhance positive patient outcomes at our hospital,” said Kresta Weadock, RN, SPARC unit, St. Mary’s Hospital. “Patient safety is our number one priority.”

“I am so excited that we will now be able to advocate much more effectively for our patients. I look forward to all that we can achieve by standing together with the 6000- RN-strong NNU Tenet Division at 14 Hospitals throughout the country,” Lowella Choate, RN, Neuro ICU, St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Next, RNs at both hospitals will elect a team of their colleagues to represent them in talks with hospital officials on a first collective bargaining contract.

NNOC is affiliated with National Nurses United, the largest and fastest growing union of RNs in the US, with more than 150,000 members nationwide.  NNU has won landmark health and safety protections for nurses and patients in the areas of staffing, safe patient handling, infectious disease and workplace violence protection.