RNs say union protections will lead to improved patient care

Today, 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 co-workers 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 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.

"We look forward to sitting down with our hospital administrators to bargain our first contract to ensure that our patients receive the care they deserve,” said Tiffani Daigle, RN in the emergency room at NMMC. “We care about our community. That is why we voted to join the union.”

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

MSNA is part of the National Nurses Organizing Committee. NNOC is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing labor union of registered nurses in the United States with nearly 225,000 members nationwide.