SPRINGFIELD, Mass.,
July 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- The Catholic Labor Network, a national group focused on
social justice and supporting workers, has sent a letter to the
Chief Executive Officer of Trinity Health of New England after
learning that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a
formal complaint against Trinity Health of New England, finding
that the hospital violated federal law protecting employees when
they engage in union activity by reporting two Mercy Medical Center
nurses to the Board of Registration in Nursing (BORN).
The letter to CEO Dr. Reginald
Eadie says the network is "deeply concerned" about the
unlawful retaliation and quotes ethical and religious directives of
the Catholic Church that say Catholic healthcare institutions like
Trinity must treat "employees respectfully and justly." This
includes "the rights of employees to organize and bargain
collectively without prejudice to the common good."
"The right to organize and bargain collectively is foundational
once in modern Catholic Social Teaching, dating back to Pope Leo
XIII's Encyclical Rerum Novarum," Clayton Synai, president
of the Catholic Labor Network, wrote in the letter to Trinity. "We
deplore this incident and urge Trinity to resume bargaining in a
form consistent with Ethical and Religious Directive #7…"
The NLRB in May 2021 issued a
formal complaint detailing that Trinity management submitted
written allegations to the BORN last summer about two nurses
because, according to the NLRB, the nurses "assisted the Union and
engaged in protected concerted activities and/or to discourage
employees from engaging in such activities," therefore violating
the National Labor Relations Act provision that says it is
"unlawful for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or coerce
employees in the exercise of their rights." Trinity's complaints
against the nurses were completely unfounded and fabricated only to
intimidate and threaten them for engaging in union activities.
The NLRB is an independent federal agency vested with the power
to safeguard employees' rights to organize and to determine whether
to have unions as their bargaining representative, according to its
website. The agency also acts to prevent and remedy unfair labor
practices committed by private sector employers and unions. BORN
oversees the statutes and regulations that govern nursing practice
and nursing education in Massachusetts.
"Instead of listening to nurses and improving patient care and
working conditions, Trinity Health decided to retaliate against my
protected union activity by filing a complaint that jeopardized my
nursing license and also forced me to hire a lawyer to fight for my
license," said Alex Wright, RN, and
Co-Chair of the MNA Bargaining Committee at Mercy Medical Center,
one of the nurses involved. "This sort of behavior shows how intent
Trinity is on undermining nurses' collective voices rather than
giving us an equal seat at the table to make positive changes for
nurses, patients and our community."
Throughout the pandemic, Mercy nurses have engaged in public
action calling for improved safety standards for patients, nurses,
and other healthcare workers. They held two informational pickets
in May and August of 2020 about conditions related to working
during the pandemic, and held a picket this spring to protest
Trinity's refusal to agree to a fair contract that improves patient
care and working conditions.
Following the complaint, the parties reached a board settlement,
resulting in a posting Trinity had to send to all MNA members at
Mercy (and former members at Providence Hospital) which spelled out
the conditions that Mercy would follow and stating that they would
not violate or interfere with members' National Labor Relations Act
rights. The posting went up at the hospital in multiple locations.
Trinity also agree to pay legal "and other" fees for the nurses
involved.
Email jmarkman@mnarn.org for a copy of the notice and/or the
letter from the Catholic Labor Network.
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____________________________________________
Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the
largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members
advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of
nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of
nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view
of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies
on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mna-national-catholic-labor-group-admonishes-trinity-health-after-nlrb-issues-complaint-to-mercy-medical-center-for-retaliating-against-nurses-union-activity-301344335.html
SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association