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MASSACHUSETTS
NURSE NEWSLETTER :: September
2006
MNA members join demonstration against imminent Kentucky
River Decision
Outcome could eliminate nurses’ rights to unionize,
advocate for patients
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| The MNA delegation outside the AHA. |
More than 200 RNs—including a delegation from
the MNA—recently participated in a march and rally in Chicago
to protest an imminent threat to nurses’ democratic rights
to union representation and their ability to safely advocate for
their patients.
At issue is an imminent decision by the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB) on a series of pending cases known as “Kentucky
River.” Specifically, the American Hospital Association (AHA)—joined
by the national
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| View from inside the marching crowd. |
Chamber of Commerce and other corporate interests—wants
to eliminate the union-protected rights of nurses and other lead
employees who assign and delegate work to others. The AHA is pushing
for a ruling, expected any day, and labor supporters expect an unfavorable
outcome considering that the Bush Administration has stacked the
NLRB with attorneys and members who are hostile to unions. If the
decision is unfavorable, the federal labor board could declare hundreds
of thousands of RNs as “supervisors,” and thus ineligible
for union representation, and the protection it provides for their
patient advocacy.
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| Patty Healy addresses the crowd. |
For nurses, the decision could unfairly strip them
of their ability to advocate for patients without the threat of
retaliation. The decision would ultimately threaten patient safety
and could lead to chaos in hospitals across the country.
The Aug. 8 protest began with a rally at Daley Plaza and was followed
by a march to the headquarters of the AHA. Other participating organizations
included Chicago Jobs With Justice; Maine State Nurses Association/NNOC;
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers; Nurses Professional
Organization-Kentucky/NNOC; Physicians for a National Health Program;
Communication Workers of America District 4; and Pennsylvania Assn.
of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals.
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