FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/August 21, 1997 CONTACT: Sara Foer [202/651-7023]; Joan Meehan [202/651-7020] ANA Applauds 9th Circuit Court Decision in Alaska Hospital DisputeRuling Removes Obstacle to RN OrganizingCalling it a hard-won victory for nurses and their patients everywhere, the American Nurses Association (ANA) today hailed the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which ruled that charge nurses at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage are not supervisors, and therefore are eligible for collective bargaining. This decision, which has national implications, ends more than three years of legal challenges that began in August 1994 when nurses at Providence voted to be represented by the Alaska Nurses Association. The 2-1 circuit court ruling upheld the February 1996 decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that the votes of some 180 charge nurses were properly counted in the representation election, and that the hospital violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it refused to bargain with the Alaska Nurses Association on behalf of the Providence nurses. "This decision is a victory for nurses, who deserve the protections of federal labor law, including the right to union representation, and for their patients, who can feel confident that nurses' professional obligation to advocate in their best interest is not undermined due to fear of retribution," said ANA Executive Director Geri Marullo, MSN, RN. "We also applaud the determination of the 700 nurses at Providence and wish them well as they move forward to negotiate their first contract." "The court correctly made the distinction between the expert judgment of professionals, including RNs, and supervisory judgment, which is what the Alaska Nurses Association, and ANA argued," said ANA General Counsel Barbara J. Sapin, JD, who, along with Alaska Nurses Association attorney Matthew Halliday, JD, presented the oral argument before the circuit court in July. "We are looking forward to the commencement of negotiations," stated Patricia Senner, MS, RN, ANP, Executive Director of the Alaska Nurses Association. "With the national emphasis on cutting health care costs, RNs need to have a say in how limited health care dollars are spent to ensure that the care provided to patients isn't compromised." In assessing the supervisory status of the charge nurses, the court found "to the extent a charge nurse gives some guidance to other RNs she does so more in the capacity of a leadman or straw boss than anything else. By exercising her professional judgment in this routine manner while working alongside and guiding less experienced employees, the charge nurse is not transformed into a supervisor." The implications of the decision are that RNs who work as professional, non-supervisory employees have the right to organize for collective bargaining purposes and to engage in other concerted activity. For example, nurses who speak out as a group regarding job conditions or management decisions that may compromise the safety and quality of patient care will be protected from firing. The issue of RNs' employment status gained national prominence following the May 1994 Supreme Court decision in NLRB v. Health Care & Retirement Corp. of America. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that nurses who direct the work of other employees may be found to be supervisors, and thus not covered by protections guaranteed to them under the NLRA. Since the Supreme Court's decision, some hospitals, such as Providence, have used it to block nurses' attempts to organize for purposes of collective bargaining. Other employers have tried to decertify units or have refused to negotiate. ANA, through its state nurses associations (SNAs), is the oldest and largest labor union for registered nurses. As such, in the past several years it has participated in several cases that addressed nurses' status. In the Supreme Court case, ANA filed an amicus brief in support of the NLRB. In addition, ANA and the Alaska Nurses Association presented oral arguments to the NLRB in the Providence case. "With hospitals downsizing their RN staffs, some to dangerously low levels, and increasing the use of unlicensed assistive personnel, this decision is vital to protect nurses and their patients," said Marullo. "ANA and the state nurses associations have long fought battles in the courts and at the bargaining table to ensure that nurses' and patients' rights are protected. It is ANA's top priority to fight for measures that focus on safety and quality, not cost-cutting, as the driving force in health care." "Given an environment where profit-making often comes before patient care and where professional practice is undermined in the name of cost-cutting, many nurses today are interested in collective bargaining," said Marullo. "We believe this decision will remove one of the tactics employers have used to impede this process, and as a result, even more nurses will seek representation by their state nurses association." Through its "Every Patient Deserves a Nurse" campaign, ANA has alerted consumers about hospitals' increased reliance on unlicensed, assistive personnel to provide a growing range of complex patient care services. In addition, ANA has spearheaded efforts to further demonstrate the link between RN staffing and quality patient outcomes, has promoted the need for nursing indicators in all "report card" efforts, and has had legislation introduced in Congress to require hospitals to publicly disclose information about qualifications and levels of staffing.
|
