North Coast Landslide, St. Joseph RNs Vote by 86% for CNA; Hospital Spent at least $31,000 per 'no' vote, CNA Estimates.

News Editors/Health & Medical Writers

EUREKA, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--March 16, 2002

In a landslide vote, Registered Nurses at St. Joseph and General Hospitals here voted by 86% Friday to join the California Nurses Association.

By a count of 231 to 39, with a turnout of over 90%, the RNs left no doubt of their desire to affiliate with CNA, the state's largest organization of nurses which represents 44,000 RNs from the Oregon border to San Diego. The National Labor Relations Board supervised the secret ballot election.

"I'm so sincerely proud of what we have accomplished here today. It is a new day for us," said Telemetry RN Amy Neuman. "It's our duty to our profession of nursing to take this opportunity that we have earned to guide our practice."

The vote was a staggering rebuke to the hospital administration and its high-priced anti-union consultants, the Burke Group, which has a long history of labor law violations and was cited by the NLRB for 26 violations of Federal Labor Law committed during an anti-CNA campaign in Long Beach in February 2000.

Though hospitals usually conceal the totals they spend on such campaigns, CNA estimates conservatively that St. Joseph's paid the Burke Group at least $1.2 million -- or the equivalent of $31,000 for each "no" vote it ultimately received. The actual numbers could run as high as $100,000 per vote.

"It's deplorable how much money and resources that should be used for patient care that the hospitals waste on seeking to repress the democratic wishes of their nurses," said CNA Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro. She saluted the "resolve of the St. Joseph nurses to have representation and the astounding margin of the vote. We're very proud to have such dedicated patient advocates as members."

Nurses approached CNA several months ago, wanting to achieve a professional voice on behalf of themselves and their patients. Patient care concerns and the inability of St. Joseph to recruit and retain nurses were key concerns.

Neta Courcey, RN, an obstetrics nurse, thanked the legion of community residents who encouraged the nurses. "The community has been very supportive of our efforts to organize and be represented by the California Nurses Association."