Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1520619
15 RECENTLY ORGANIZED RNS SPEAK MODEL PATIENT CARE PROTECTIONS, ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENT "The number one reason we organized with NNOC is to have the tools to advocate for a safe hos- pital for our patients and our community — where our patients don't have to wait long hours in the ED, and we have the medical supplies we need to care for them. We're excited to bargain a contract that sets higher standards at UMC and raises the bar at other hospitals in the region, too." — Kisha Montes, RN University Medical Center, New Orleans, La. STRONGER VOICE TO HELP US ADVOCATE FOR PATIENTS "Forming a union with NNOC was an act of caring and advocacy for our patients. As union nurses, we can practice nursing at its best. Now that we have a contract, we have a guarantee that we can be true patient advocates. We have a voice and manage- ment must listen to our professional opinion of what should be done." — Dominique Hamilton, RN Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital, Tucson, Ariz. UNION STRENGTH AND POWER "The pride I feel to be sitting at the first-ever bargaining table for the nurses at Maine Medical Center is a tremendous privilege. Making manage- ment listen to the voices of the 2,000 nurses at MMC is one of the most empower- ing endeavors I have taken on. For the first time, we feel real power standing together as a group and dealing with them on a level playing field!" — Jonica Frank, RN Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine AN ALL-RN UNION WITH A TRACK RECORD OF SUCCESS "HCA told us over and over that if we unionized nothing would change. We didn't let that stop us. We did our own research and decided NNOC was the right union for us. We knew that with an elected board made up exclusively of bedside RNs, NNOC could understand and sup- port us as we organized to change our hospital. It is often said that you can't talk about unions in the South, but with collective action, the Mission nurses busted that myth and we're very proud of what we've accomplished so far!" — Hannah Drummond, RN Mission Hospital, Asheville, N.C. 95 PERCENT ELECTION VICTORY RATE 95 PERCENT FIRST CONTRACT RATE Organizing with NNOC »