National Nurses United

6 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 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 J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 MINNESOTA M innesota nurses stood their ground for more than three years and won a precedent-setting victory for nurses, union rights, and workers everywhere. It started with a June 2014 informational picket at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, Minn. Minnesota Nurses Association nurses and SEIU Healthcare- Minnesota members held a one-day infor- mational picket to raise public awareness of their concerns about staffing at the hospital. The hospital had begun a pattern of harass- ing union members and violating their union rights days before the picket. North Memorial management banned union information on employee bulletin boards, stopped union repre- sentatives from speaking to members, and intimidated workers by surveilling them and their conversations with MNA and SEIU staff. The day before the picket, North Memor- ial's human resources manager threatened two MNA and SEIU organizers and ordered security guards to escort them out of the building. They were told that they weren't supposed to be there, and were banned from the property for one year. The day of the picket, an off-duty MNA nurse wore an MNA t-shirt in the hospital. He was told he wasn't allowed to wear that shirt in the hospital that day and was forced to take the shirt off immediately. Then-MNA President Linda Hamilton, RN attempted to talk with members in the hospital cafeteria, and she was also told she couldn't wear her union shirt or speak with members there. An SEIU member was later fired. MNA and SEIU immediately filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). An NLRB adminis- trative law judge found that North Memorial illegally tried to ban legal union activity and fired an employee in retaliation for activities surrounding the informational picket. North Memorial appealed, and over three years, the NLRB and the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that North Memo- rial violated workers' rights and attempted to interfere with legal union access. The appeals court ordered North Memo- rial to post and read aloud to employees— and in front of union officials–how the hospital violated labor laws and how work- ers' rights can be exercised in the future. MNA and SEIU members gathered at the hospital to celebrate that victory on Sept. 29, 2017, after North Memorial did not appeal the ruling—and complied with the order. An NLRB agent read the notice to staff and posted it. "North Memorial illegally tried to restrict union access and stop members from engag- ing in legal activities," said MNA President Mary Turner, a North Memorial RN. "This decision is a major victory for workers and unions everywhere. It sets a clear precedent that workers have the right to lawfully organize. It sends a clear message that employers cannot intimidate or impede work- ers, or their union representatives, and if they attempt to do so, they will be held accountable." The court and NLRB ruled that: • Union members are entitled to have conversations in public areas and not be intimidated or surveilled to prevent them from speaking to other members. • Union organizers cannot be banned from the property if they are not being "disruptive." • Union members or representatives cannot be prevented from wearing union shirts. • The hospital must reinstate the SEIU employee who was fired in retaliation for the event. "I'm proud of our North Memorial lead- ers who stood strong for workers' rights," said Turner. "Their courage in testifying at the NLRB and standing up to blatant unfair labor practices benefits workers everywhere. It shows it pays to stand up for what's right. Despite what appears to be a hostile work environment, when our rights are so blatant- ly disregarded, our judicial system has no choice but to take the side of the worker. We now have a document that can be used all over the state in any situation when it comes to union activities and bargaining." Another victory that resulted from the 2014 informational picket was that North Memorial withdrew staffing grids it had imposed without consensus and negotiated grids agreeable to nurses, according to bargaining unit cochair Barb Gundale, RN. —Barb Brady News BRiefs North Memorial RNs win three-year fight for union rights NLRB, courts find in their favor, implications for whole state

• Cover