Charge Nurses in Danger from the NLRB
“Responding to the NLRB decision is one of the highest priorities of the nurse unions in the AFLCIO.” says Kathy Sackman, RN, president of UNAC/UHCP, AFSCME and UNA Co-Chair.
As this issue of UNA Action goes to press, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has yet to rule on three cases that will clarify, and likely broaden, the definition of supervisor. Any nurse who works charge or in any way directs other staff may be deemed a supervisor and thus removed from the protections of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the right to belong to a union. (See “Are You a Supervisor and Don’t Know It? Beware!” UNA Action, Winter 2005.) The ruling is likely to affect LP/VNs who work in nursing homes and other health care institutions at least as much as RNs who work in hospitals.
AFSCME has been working with other nurse unions and the AFL-CIO to prepare for the ruling and to coordinate a response when it is issued. Our activities include:
- developing protective (pre-emptive) contract language that prohibits the employer from reclassifying a nurse based on the NLRB
decision; this language can be distributed to negotiating teams as they go in to bargaining; - asking members of Congress to send letters to the NLRB urging the board to hold oral
arguments before issuing a decision; - increasing member and public awareness about the decision and the reasons that union protection improves quality care (for example, unionized nurses are less afraid to speak out about quality concerns because they need not fear retaliation);
- developing a public relations/message campaign that will include meetings with editorial boards and radio ads.
“Responding to the NLRB decision is one of the highest priorities of the nurse unions in the AFL-CIO. This is a great example of how nurse unions can, and must, work together and support each other around a common agenda,” says AFSCME International vice president and UNA Co-Chair Kathy Sackman, RN.
Because the NLRA covers the private sector, many AFSCME nurses will not feel the immediate impact of a negative ruling. But the decision may open the door for state labor boards to re-evaluate how nurses are classified, so no one is immune from the potential fallout.