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[Kentucky River FAQ] [Background information]
[AP article on decision]
Statement by UAN President Cheryl Johnson, RN On NLRB’s Decision to Strip Many Nurses of Their Union Rights
SILVER SPRING, MD – "The NLRB’s anti-worker decision serves no one well—not patients, not nurses and not hospitals.”
"The decision is a threat to patient advocacy and care. It’s a roadblock to solving the already huge problems in hospitals today—a critical shortage of nurses, unsafe staffing ratios, nurses forced to work overtime and patients who suffer preventable complications or death from medical errors.
"The decision shows an incredible lack of understanding by the majority of the NLRB as to what nurses actually do and how hospitals work. Every day, nurses make decisions about patients’ care. That’s not only our job; it is required by our code of ethics and our standard of professional practice.
"Some of the decisions we make involve directing other staff, but that doesn’t mean nurses are suddenly transformed into supervisors. Nurses know the difference, our nursing supervisors know the difference and hospitals know the difference. It’s unfortunate the NLRB doesn’t—for patients, nurses and hospitals.”
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The United American Nurses, AFL-CIO, the collective bargaining affiliate of the American Nurses Association, is the nation's largest RN union, representing more than 100,000 nurses and including 27 state nurses associations or collective bargaining program affiliates, including the Hawai'i Nurses' Association.
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