For Immediate Release
Wednesday, March 06, 1996
AFSCME International Vice President Applauds NLRB Decisions that Define Nursing "Supervisors"
Pomona, CA —Kathy J. Sackman, AFSCME International vice president, today applauded recent decisions by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) which provide guidelines for union organizing among nurses. The NLRB rulings came more than a year after union organizers and health care providers reached a stalemate over what constitutes a nursing "supervisor." Under current labor law, supervisors cannot be organized by unions.
"After more than 16 months of deliberation," Sackman said, "we are heartened by the rulings of the NLRB. We're encouraged by these efforts to more clearly define a 'supervisor' within the health care industry."
Sackman co-chairs United Nurses of America (UNA), the branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, that addresses issues of critical concern to nurses. AFSCME, as the nation's largest public employee and health care workers union, represents some 360,000 health care workers, including 76,000 nurses across the nation.
"Too often, charge nurses, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and other nursing staff, are called upon to make decisions about the types of care a patient will receive," Sackman continued. "In some jurisdictions, licensed nurses bear the ultimate responsibility -- and legal liability -- for care delivered to patients. Yet nurses' efforts are aimed at providing quality patient care, not in supervising their co-workers. The rulings by the NLRB should assist in resolve disputes about nurse organizing, in environments where nurses coordinate the work of others and make professional decisions for the patients they serve."
Sackman said she's hopeful that the NLRB decision will clarify the issues surrounding nurse organizing and will establish nurses as patient advocates -- not as agents of health care providers.
"It's our hope that the recent rulings by the NLRB will clarify the role of nurses, not only for union organizers, but for policy makers in the health care industry," She said. "Arbitrary treatment of workers is a major problem in this country, particularly in the health care industry. Nurses are routinely denied basic worker rights. The NLRB ruling will assist unions in negotiating protections for the registered nurses or licensed practical nurses who routinely coordinate group efforts when delivering patient care."
"The United Nurses of America applauds the rulings by the NLRB regarding the definitions of nursing supervisors," Sackman concluded. "We are encouraged in our efforts to secure protections for all nurses."
