RNs to Hold Cincinnati Press Conference Wednesday After Hospitals, Hand-Picked Union Cancel Rigged Elections

Registered nurses will hold a press conference today to talk about the victory for employee rights, patient care protections, and workplace democracy -- and the options now for Cincinnati area RNs -- following the announcement today that Catholic Healthcare Partners chain and its hand-picked union, the Service Employees International Union, have cancelled the rigged elections that would have occurred Friday at five area hospitals.

When:      Today, Wednesday, March 12
Time:       11 a.m.
Where:    Mercy Franciscan Mt. Airy Hospital
                2446 Kipling, Cincinnati
                adjacent to the main entry driveway, corner off of Kipling

The press conference is sponsored by National Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association, the nation's largest organization of RNs. NNOC/CNA sharply criticized the deal between CHP and SEIU that would have imposed SEIU as the company's hand-picked union for RNs and other hospital employees.

CHP and SEIU depended on what NNOC/CNA called a "conspiracy of silence" to rush through a sham election without any indication of support from the RNs and other employees. That scheme fell apart when exposed to the light of day and the nurses and other employees became aware that they had alternatives to a union selected for them by their employer," said CNA/NNOC executive director Rose Ann DeMoro. 

RNs have genuine alternatives to improve their conditions, their professional practice, and their ability to act as effective advocates for their patients. We intend to present those alternatives," said Jill Furillo, RN, director of the NNOC/CNA's Catholic hospital division.