PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Helen Lee, Organizing Director United Nurses of Legacy AFT Healthcare NW
(971) 645-7769 helen@unlnet.org

United Nurses of Legacy, AFT Healthcare Northwest challenge National Labor Relations Board Settlement in Case against Legacy Hospital Administration

• Legacy should admit to employee intimidation during unionizing drive, comply with National Labor Relations Act.
• NLRB acquiesces to employer.
• Great example of why the Employee Free Choice Act needs to be passed by Congress.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 5, 2008

Portland, OR—Nurses from Legacy Hospital System filed Unfair Labor Practices charges against their employer in the middle of a union organizing campaign last May. The complaint included the following charges:

• Nurses were not allowed to discuss union matters or distribute union literature in a non-working area of the hospital.
• A hospital supervisor sent out an email to employees defining the entire hospital as a working area. The email was intended to intimidate employees and discourage union organizing. Security was called and nurses were escorted out of their facilities. Local police were also called to the scene.

After the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found merit in these complaints, the board negotiated with Legacy and offered a settlement on October 24 which included a written notice to be posted by Legacy reiterating nurses’ rights under the law. NLRB office declared the case settled and canceled a hearing that was scheduled for October 28.

“[The NLRB] spent several weeks discussing the settlement with Legacy, yet...was unwilling to give [the union] even one day to review the settlement before canceling the hearing,” AFT attorney Sam Lieberman wrote in a letter to NLRB officer-in-charge, Linda Davidson.

United Nurses of Legacy and AFT Healthcare Northwest challenge the settlement, contending it fails to address important issues in the case.

Nurses contend the settlement should include:

• acknowledgement of the Unfair Labor Practices charge;
• a statement that Legacy will not discriminate against nurses who discuss the union on hospital property;
• a definition of patient care areas in the hospital.

“Nurses want a meaningful settlement that takes into account our concerns,” says Cheryl Koller, an R.N. at Legacy Good Samaritan, one of the nurses involved with the case.

Unfortunately, this case is typical for complaints brought before NLRB nationwide. United Nurses of Legacy and AFT Healthcare Northwest call on Oregon Congress members and concerned citizens to support the Employee Free Choice Act which would reform the NLRA, increasing penalties and enforcement for employers who practice union-busting. This legislation is supported by President-elect Barack Obama.

# # #