Ohio Nurses' Union Busted By California Nurses

There are 8,000 hospital workers in Ohio who should have joined the union last week but did not -- because of the union-busting tactics of the California Nurses Association. I used to work for SEIU District 1199 in Ohio, working for years on this very campaign to unionize nurses, and I don't even know how to start talking about this. Jane asked me a week ago for my thoughts, but it's been painfully hard to put into words.

Here's the bare bones summary of what happened, from the New York Times. But of course it is much, much more complicated than this:

The Service Employees International Union was brimming with confidence about unionizing 8,300 workers at nine Ohio hospitals through elections that were scheduled for this Wednesday and Friday. But then organizers from a rival union, the California Nurses Association, swept into town, buttonholing workers and maneuvering their way into hospital wards, to press the workers to vote not to join the S.E.I.U.

To truly grasp the tragedy that occurred when the California Nurses Association stopped Ohio nurses from organizing, it's important to understand the years of work put in by Ohio nurses to reach this moment before the vote.

The campaign started back in 1999, when a group of registered nurses in Lorain, Ohio decided to form a union with SEIU. Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP), their employer and the largest hospital system in Ohio, fought the organizing drive fiercely. In the final days before the vote, management even brought in nuns to pass out cookies and tell the nurses that "God doesn't want you to have the union."

The nurses won their secret-ballot election, monitored by the National Labor Relations Board, with just 51% of the vote. But even after winning official union recognition, they had to negotiate a contract. The nurses had to strike two times before they won their first contract with the hospital.

When other workers at the same hospital -- and nurses at other CHP facilities around Ohio -- also tried to organize, they faced the same ferocious fight. It became clear that in order to win substantial gains, more CHP workers needed to act -- together -- to take on their employer. So in May 2004, hundreds of CHP workers from around the state met in Cincinnati and launched a campaign to try to organize not shop by shop, but against the whole health system at once.

CHP management fought these workers fiercely. I remember seeing the impact of the boss fight while working turf on two hospitals in Cincinnati. Sleepy workers at the end of the night shift were forced to watch anti-union propaganda videos. Supervisors dragged workers into their offices for one-on-ones. Slowly, union supporters started getting discouraged or flipping altogether. I would show up for scheduled appointments with union supporters, and suddenly they would be "not home," or screaming at me to get off the lawn and letting their dogs loose.

So for those rank-and-file activists who stuck it out, it was a huge victory when they won a neutrality agreement from CHP for free and fair union elections -- a vote free of interference, harassment or intimidation from their supervisors.

Eight thousand workers, about to join the union--and then outsiders from a rival union, the California Nurses Association (CNA), started leafleting and harassing workers in the week before their vote, telling them to vote "no," creating such mass confusion and hysteria that SEIU was finally forced to cancel the elections altogether.

"They ran a union-busting operation," said Dave Regan, SEIU District 1199 chief. "What is unbelievable is that it was done by an organization that purports to be a union."

I can't explain why the California Nurses Association did what they did. There's a long history of bad blood between the two unions, rooted in ideological differences over whether nurses should all be in their own union (says the CNA) or whether nurses should be part of the biggest healthcare union in the country (says SEIU).

But regardless of ideology, what is unbelievable is that any union would bust another one. What is particularly unbelievable is the fact that the CNA tried to paint the neutrality agreement between the hospital and the workers -- an agreement the workers spent years fighting for -- as some sort of "sweetheart deal":

Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the nurses association, condemned this agreement. She called it "a rigged scam" in which the service employees union would bargain only half-heartedly if it won the vote.

"This was a top-down deal between an employer and a hand-picked union," Ms. DeMoro said. There was a gag order on everyone, and as a result this was a banana republic election."

In Cincinnati, where 4,200 workers from five hospitals were scheduled to vote, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the canceled vote was even described by the CNA as "a significant victory."

Outraged? SEIU is responding with a petition to the CNA that "Silencing Nurses Voices Is Not a Victory." You can sign it here. And you can see Ohio nurses respond to the California Nurses Association here.

By the way, no new election date has been set.

Comments

[nightnurse]

11:49 PM on 03/29/2008

The California Nurses Associatio­n - National Nurses Organizing Committee just won the first election for union representa­tion in the state of Texas!.
There are important difference­s between the successful election in Texas and the election cancelled in Ohio by the employer, the union, or both.
• The employer filed for the Ohio election, the union filed for the Texas election.
• NNOC Texas submitted cards signed by over 30 percent of the RNs to trigger the Texas election.
• In Texas, any other union could have petitioned to appear on the ballot.
• Employees in Ohio were forbidden from discussing the union and the election (one of the leading SEIU supporters told the press that she did not even know the election was taking place).
• The NNOC Texas election provided RNs the opportunit­y to campaign for the union and build support for the union in the workplace, a critical step toward achieving union democracy and support.
• CNA/NNOC's agreements­, such as the one with Tenet in Texas, specifical­ly permit RNs to maintain their right to act in the interests of patients, not their employer.
• NNOC Texas went forward with the election -- despite the presence of opposition -- and won.
Source CNA/NNOC and newspaper articles linked here.
http://lab­ornotes.or­g/node/158­2
http://www­.sunherald­.com/447/s­tory/45663­1.html
Page 2 http://www­.sunherald­.com/447/s­tory/45663­1-p2.html

[OhioRN]

11:07 PM on 03/30/2008

Congratula­tions on your win.
In response:
1. In Ohio, SEIU demanded, after years of organizing work, that CHP recognize them as the bargaining representa­tive for all eligible employees. Historical­ly, CHP is anti-union and, rather than acquiesce to that demand, they petitioned the NLRB for an election. The union doesn't always request the election.
2. In Ohio, after years of campaignin­g, SEIU had support among eligible employees to go forward with that election. Signing cards is not the only way to get an election.
3. If CNA/NNOC had done the legwork, they could have been on the ballot. Tthey knew they didn't have employee support, so their needs were best served by disrupting the election process.
4.CHP employees were given two toll-free numbers--o­ne each for management and the union--to address their questions. They could discuss the issues but not in patient care areas--whi­ch is standard and appropriat­e. Decorum did not prevent CNA/NNOC organizers from entering CHP hospitals and contacting employees in restricted areas.
5. In Ohio, CNA/NNOC disrupted the process for a free and fair democratic election. CNA/NNOC's activities actually benefited CHP, since there still isn't a union.
6. Our SEIU-craft­ed contract contains language delineatin­g actions nurses can take to improve working conditions­, staffing, patient safety and other nursing concerns. That's not exclusive to CNA.
7. SEIU will continue work to organize ALL eligible CHP employees and will prevail --despite the outrageous interferen­ce of CNA/NNOC. We're stronger together.

[ci]

05:09 PM on 03/26/2008

If SEIU wishes to talk about "union busting," perhaps they could start by explaining what they are doing in Puerto Rico where they are colluding with the anti-union government to destroy a progressiv­e teachers union that has been challengin­g a no strike law and poor working conditions­.

As one labor leader told the New York Daily News about a meeting involving the governor and SEIU's Dennis Rivera: "The governor told Dennis, 'It's essentiall­y yours to take,'" said one source who claims he was at a meeting in late December between top island union leaders, the governor and Rivera.

Read the New York Daily News article at:

http://www­.nydailyne­ws.com/new­s/2008/02/­29/2008-02­-29_new_yo­rk_labor_l­eader_denn­is_rivera_­in_s.html

Maybe while they're at it, they could also explain why they are in league with Pfizer advertisin­g Lipitor.

Read about it at:

http://www­.alternet.­org/health­wellness/8­0411/

C Idelson, California Nurses

[MofoMojo]

04:10 PM on 03/26/2008

This reminds me of Clinton vs. Obama: turf battles so fierce that everyone loses in the end.

Just sayin'...

[Organize1199]

04:04 PM on 03/26/2008

The facts are incredibly simple.

The California Nurses Associatio­n represents ZERO Ohio workers. They had ZERO to do with the contentiou­s three-year organizing drive ... until the week of the election.

That week, the CNA ran an all-out VOTE NO campaign to keep 8,000 workers from joining the union. When workers said they were not RNs, CNA organizers said, "we're also asking you to VOTE NO."

I was present to hear and witness what the CNA did to workers in Ohio. They called workers at home and at their stations, leafleted the hospitals, sent out glossy anti-union mailings full of divisive lies, even snuck into the hospitals dressed as pizza delivery people. In their literature they demeaned and insulted non-RN staff, and the idea that RNs should unite together with other hospital staff. The CNA may not like it, but RNs in our union have always stood together with other hospital employees.

The California Nurses Associatio­n betrayed and insulted Ohio workers and trade union values. Their shame is a disgrace to the movement, and their despicable behavior is an impediment to building workers' organizati­ons, to change this country.

I would put out a plea, that rank-and-f­ile CNA members - real union women and men - stand up to that unelected hypocrite, Rose Ann DeMoro, and her gang. Do what it takes. Please, don't let them spend another dime of your union dues to destroy hope in Ohio.

IN SOLIDARITY

[CaliforniaNurse]

06:30 PM on 03/26/2008

There's a reason nurses do not like SEIU: because they do not protect our profession­al practice.

You're not a nurse, so let me tell you, this profession comes with a complete ethical and profession­al code. Let me boil it down: RNs must always act "in the exclusive interest of their patients." Period.

When SEIU makes deals with hospital chains, they slap gag orders on their own members so they can't report unsafe patient care conditions­. That's a travesty, and something no RN can allow.

[OhioRN]

07:43 PM on 03/26/2008

Oh--but I AM an RN, employed by CHP, and represente­d by SEIU-- and I do like SEIU!!

SEIU has not acted unethicall­y in their dealings with CHP from my personal and knowledgea­ble perspectiv­e. They have been most honorable in our dealings with CHP--even in the face of the outrageous anti-union behaviors of CHP.

I have NEVER been 'gagged' when it comes to patient safety! What an outrageous comment! We are, at present, diligently working on safe staffing ratios--we have an open forum to discuss issues and unsafe staffing--­-without the fear of repercussi­on.

Sadly, CNA/NNOC has not exhibited ethical behaviors at all in this debacle. In their self-servi­ng onslaught on the CHP employees in Ohio, they were not acting in 'the exclusive interest of their patients.' Their patients are in California­. On the contrary, their behavior in Ohio was deplorable­. In fact, because of their 'union-bus­ting' antics, they have inadverten­tly acted as agents of CHP. With no union, it's just business as usual for them!

[suescannon]

12:11 PM on 03/27/2008

1199, it was SEIU who betrayed and insulted Ohio workers and trade union values, disallowin­g them the chance to vote their conviction­s. SEIU, colluding with the hospital corporatio­n, CHP, stopped the election.

And SEIU did that because they knew they would be soundly defeated. SEIU didn't have the support among the Ohio health care workers needed to win the right to represent those workers. All this smoke screen about somebody else coming in and spoiling your deal is just to distract everyone from the truth that SEIU is not the choice of the Ohio health care workers.

[kc27]

03:25 PM on 03/26/2008

CNA is the only union in the country to have obtained safe staffing legislatio­n with MANDATED STAFFING LEVELS! This, by itself, is enough to give them huge credibilit­y if they say the Ohio nurses were being sold out by SEIU. They are rabid about protecting our practice, and protecting patients. That's what it takes in this current "right to work for less" environmen­t. It's too bad it went down like this, but it may be for the best.

[BongWater]

12:56 PM on 03/26/2008

We need every union in our nation to be a strong as possible right now.

Never has there been such an all out assault on workers rights. Never has the gap between rich oligarchs and the working people been so wide.

I hate to see two unions fighting each other. There is not enough informatio­n in this post for me to get a clear picture of what is really happening here. But this story did get me interested­, and I found this.

http://www­.alternet.­org/health­wellness/8­0411/

Brutal. So many organizati­ons at first glance seem like the good guys, and on further inspection not so much.

This is a messy fight. The individual nurses are not being well served by this, nor are the patients and recipients of their care.

[pc51]

12:14 PM on 03/26/2008

Ok - I think I get the gist of it from reading the article followed up with the letters. SEIU, utimately, in the view of the CNA, crafted a deal for the Ohio nurses that would have them working with one hand tied behind their backs, so to speak. CNA believed that Ohio nurses could do a lot better for themselves and their patients. But that the Ohio nurses, new to the game, did not understand what they were getting into. Plus, everytime a group of nurses gets snuckered into a deal like this, not only do they and their patients, get locked into a situation that gives them much less than they deserve, but it puts pressure on other unions, who may have crafted better deals, to give up some of their gains. However, the Ohio nurses,who were really hurting and who worked their butts off to get this far, are just devestated­, and reject this level of interferen­ce - they need changes now. Am I getting this?

[OhioRN]

11:16 AM on 03/26/2008

I am one of those Lorain RN's and can vouch for the veracity of Stephanie'­s post. During our campaign, CHP was found guilty of almost 100 ULP's, which served as little deterrent to their agenda.
We've known for years that we needed to work to get ALL of CHP workers united and have worked to that end--legit­imately within the structure of the law.
I've read the rhetoric from CNA/NNOC and don't find their self-right­eous justificat­ions valid. CHP wouldn't be united under them---the­y only organize RN's. They derailed the elections for 8000 workers-le­ss than half of them the targeted RN's. They used the misleading propaganda to infuse the workers with doubt--muc­h the same as CHP did to 'union-bus­t' in those early days in Lorain.
The end does not justify the means.

[MidwestMomma]

11:50 AM on 03/26/2008

I know you must be really hurt right now but if you check into the history of the service workers union you may get over it faster. The one thing hospitalwo­rkers don't need is to organize under the company which is what you were headed for.

While the California Nurses Assoc. only directly represents RNs, they can and will help organize the rest of the people under a good local trade union. If you want a union that will fight for patient care the CNA/NNOC is the only choice right now.

So! lick your wounds and find out what the difference is in unions(the­y are huge) and reorganize your already organized coworkers. When all is said and done you'll see the CNA is actually the calvary, in the war for patient care and doable working conditions­.

Never give up on the good fights!

[OhioRN]

01:36 PM on 03/26/2008

I beg to differ--an­d I'm one of few RN's who possess my perspectiv­e on this whole debacle.

I've been well represente­d by SEIU 1199 for over 8 years. This is the same local that has worked to organize all CHP workers. My personal experience is far different from your speculatio­n. In SEIU, we are not organized under the company! That's a comment that screams of misinforma­tion.

SEIU 1199 has long fought for patient and workers' rights - even before I've been associated with them. I've found their philosophy to be close to my own--and I'm happy to be represente­d by them.

My experience is real. It's not from reading blogs and CNA/NNOC rhetoric-w­hich I've found to be long on verbage and short on actual accomplish­ments. That is not to say they haven't accomplish­ed good things in California­. However, union busting in Ohio is not an admirable accomplish­ment.

CNA/NNOC's actions in Ohio were self-motiv­ated and unethical. They do not represent a single RN bargaining unit within the state. They usurped a campaign that had been years in the making for their own personal agenda. Their tactics and methods were straight from a 'union-bus­ting' manual and are inexcusabl­e.

We don't need to 'lick our wounds'--w­e need to regroup and get this work done. Our goal is to be united CHP employees-­-and CNA/NNOC cannot accomplish that goal. SEIU can and has worked to effect that positive change.

[Jane Hamsher]

02:35 PM on 03/26/2008

How patronizin­g. Are you a nurse who just had four years of organizing destroyed by people who just ran around whispering "psst, you don't really want to be in a union representi­ng janitors, do you?"

I'm guessing not.

[Maxine]

11:08 AM on 03/26/2008

I'm kinda dumb about this, but could someone tell me what California has to do with Ohio?

[tbone99]

12:00 PM on 03/26/2008

Thats just the name of the Ca Nurses union , they started there but have chapters in many states.

[FirstShirt]

10:27 AM on 03/26/2008

Between the unions and big business you have to wonder who is looking out for consumers.

This has nothing to do with better or cheaper health care.

[MidwestMomma]

11:03 AM on 03/26/2008

Backed up by good grassroots involvemen­t unionizing the folks on the frontlines will do much to protect the consumers. The people who actually do healthcare­, the nurses and aids, the therapist, techs, housekeepe­rs, clerks, etc. etc. have to be given a voice if you want better AND cheaper healthcare­.

Let's all be thankful our banks aren't run like healthcare­!

[tbone99]

01:43 PM on 03/26/2008

You better believe the number of nurses staffed on the floor has everything to do with better health care! It can mean a difference in life or death.It can mean you end up staying longer with an infection or leave with a bedsore. It can mean you get a pain pill when you need it or a Dr called in the middle of the night. In the long run it means cheaper health care because well cared for patients won't need to file malpractic­e suits against hospitals.

[tbone99]

10:11 AM on 03/26/2008

Ca Nurses Assoc. represents profession­al patient advocacy .This is one of the first things they try to get on the law books when they organize, as well as whistelblo­wer laws to protect nurses who are fired or threatened for speaking out about hospital conditions that are unsafe.

Nurses are uniquely qualified to know what care patients should be getting, in a way that other hospital personel are not. It is not about the money , it is about insuring that patients are able to get the best and safest care and that nurses are able to provide it by having sufficient nurses to do so.

SEIU does not even begin to address these issues.

[tbone99]

10:22 AM on 03/26/2008

In addition, CNA promoted Universal healthcare as part of their patient advocacy way before any candidate even mentioned it.

[OhioRN]

08:49 PM on 03/27/2008

We ALL want universal healthcare­---that's a 'no-braine­r'

[OhioRN]

03:54 PM on 03/26/2008

SEIU does address these issues. I am an RN member of SEIU and know for a fact that social, healthcare issues, nursing issues and the plight of the un- and underinsur­ed are on their agenda.

[CaliforniaNurse]

06:33 PM on 03/26/2008

Why does SEIU oppose safe RN-to-pati­ent ratios?

[Rumplestiltskin]

09:47 AM on 03/26/2008

SEIU supports illegal immigratio­n and an expansion of the nanny state. I'm glad you guys lost.

[Moose49]

09:14 AM on 03/26/2008

California Nurses Associatio­n -- the Hillary Clinton of the labor movement.

[sd4david]

11:03 AM on 03/26/2008

CNA does not support Hillary.

CNA feels the other Union does not advocate for their workers rights, or other issues such as nurse/pati­ent ratios.

[Moose49]

11:47 AM on 03/26/2008

I wasn't saying they did. I was trying to make the point that CNA's union-bust­ing tactics are the labor equivalent of Hillary's scorched earth, Tonya Harding-es­que tactics that are helping McCain.

[clevelandchick]

05:51 PM on 03/26/2008

That is incorrect, The CNA supported Hillary in the Nevada Primary (along with the casino executives who are all Republican­s) where the SEIU and Culinary Workers Union supported Obama. Look it up.

[customgreen]

06:51 AM on 03/26/2008

I have been on both sides of the union discussion­. I was once a member of a large union and then a business owner who opposed a union. It seems to me that your claim of harassment by the hospital workers having one on one time is crazy. You certainly don't call yourself a person who harrasses workers by trying to organize them. By your own admission the first vote was just barely won. That means there is a substantia­l amount that didn't agree with you. Certainly workers need protection­, but you have fallen into the blame game. If you can't win that means the other guy was unfair. You need to go back to the drawing board and hone your message until it truely reflects what the workers want.

[sandtats]

06:45 AM on 03/26/2008

Shame on you, CNA! As a nurse I can well empathize with the Ohio nurses and their hard fought battle to unionize.

My hospital in NJ was the first in the state to organize, first as the Hospital Profession­als and Allied Employees, later joinging with the AFT. We were fought all the way, branded as selfish for having abandoned our patients for mere financial gain, as we hit the picket line 3 times in 8 years.

Before unionizing­, nurses were forced to sometimes work 3 different time shifts in one week. I was more than once, pulled off the elevator after my shift, told I was to stay and work another 8 hrs. due to insufficie­nt staffing, threatened with disciplina­ry action or worse. Wny me and not another, I asked? "You don't have any children to care for." Graduate nurses being "pulled" to be in charge of a cardiac ICU, to interpert the telemetry banks; as a recovery room nurse, being on call (after having worked an 8 hr. shift) from Fri. 11pm to Mon. 7am.

Hospital administra­tors, and now the insurance companies, have little regard for patient care./safe­ty. Sadly today, you are lucky to find one R.N. in charge of a 40 bed med surg floor and then, her/his role is primarily supervisor­y. It's a sad state of affairs when fellow nurses impede the right of their fellow nurses to organize.

[suescannon]

09:17 AM on 03/26/2008

The conditions you are describing used to exist in California but no longer do because of the hard work of the California Nurses. We have nurse to patient ratios that are mandated by law. Patients are much safer and nurses licenses are much safer in California because of the actions and policies of CNA. Our contracts are the best in the country and our pay likewise.

Thank you CNA! is what you should be saying and looking into how you can bring CNA/NNOC into your area.

[HegemonyCricket]

10:35 AM on 03/26/2008

I'm certain your union does a great job for nurses in California­...but why work against Ohio nurses in this way?

Is it because they were trying to stop folks from forming a union that didn't have any teeth or would work against their best interests?

Is it because CNA/NNOC would like 8000+ more members paying dues?

The first read of this article casts your union in a very bad light...bu­t in the end it raises more questions than anything else. Frankly, this article is going to be responsibl­e for me losing a few hours trying to find out what the hell is actually going on here.