National Nurses United

M AY | J U N E 2 0 1 7 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 5 MARYLAND I n a huge victory for registered nurs- es across the country who struggle to unionize for rights and representation in order to be better patient advocates, an oncology RN fired from Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Md. for her union activism won back her job in June. Colleagues rallied on June 19 to welcome back Edith Saffa who, under the terms of the settlement agreement with the hospital, will be reinstated with full back pay total- ing more than $14,000 and accrued paid time off. "I'm excited to get back to work and will continue speaking up for improved condi- tions so that my patients get the quality care they deserve," said Saffa, who has worked at Holy Cross for 13 years. "I'm standing strong because I have the support of my colleagues and National Nurses United. My reinstate- ment shows we can advocate for our patients without fear of losing our jobs." For more than a year, hospital manage- ment has been unwilling to address the nurses' patient care concerns, particularly chronic short staffing. Staffing deficiencies erode the quality of patient care and hamper the hospital's ability to recruit and retain experienced RNs, say RNs. "With Edith's return, we've been vindi- cated," said Marianne Wysong, an RN in the Mother-Baby Unit. "As registered nurses it is our professional responsibility to advocate for our patients and it is our legal right to strengthen our advocacy through collective bargaining. It's time for Holy Cross to stop harassing RNs and start focusing on the patient care concerns we've raised." In February, the National Labor Rela- tions Board issued a consolidated complaint against Holy Cross Hospital on multiple charges filed on behalf of nurses working there. The violations of the National Labor Relations Act include: restraining and coerc- ing its employees, spying on or creating the impression of spying on employees in their protected concerted activity; and interrogat- ing employees about their union support. "Management should stop wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars on anti-union consultants to undermine nurses and instead use those resources on staffing and patient care," said Corey Lanham, NNOC/NNU's mid-Atlantic collective bargaining director. The Holy Cross RNs have received wide community support in their efforts to act collectively to improve patient care at the hospital. Numerous members of the Maryland General Assembly, representing three-quar- ters of the Montgomery County legislative delegation, wrote Holy Cross Hospital to express appreciation and respect for the hard work of the nurses as both caregivers and patient advocates, and to urge management to "respect the rights of the registered nurses to organize" and decide whether or not to affiliate with the union "free from interference, harass- ment, or intimidation." Holy Cross Hospital, the eighth-largest employer in Montgomery County, Md., is owned by Trinity Health, one of the largest Catholic hospital corporations in the United States. In fiscal year 2016, Trinity reported revenues of $16.3 billion and profits of $89.8 million. Total assets were $23.4 billion. By way of comparison, if Trinity Health were included in the Fortune 500 (which ranks for-profit corporations by asset size), it would rank 119th, just behind Time Warner, Halliburton, and Northrup Grumman. —Staff report Big win for Holy Cross RNs Nurse fired during organizing fully reinstated

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