On Friday, December 13, nurses at Providence Alaska Medical Center (PAMC) filed three Unfair Labor Practice charges against the hospital. The Alaska Nurses Association (AaNA), which represents over 1,300 nurses at PAMC, filed the charges in response to a pattern of illegal union-busting tactics by Providence.
The charges, filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), allege Providence has violated the National Labor Relations Act by conducting illegal surveillance, intimidation, and retaliation designed to chill nurses’ union participation and activism related to safe staffing. The charges will now be investigated by the NLRB.
Over the past few months, Providence nurses have been sounding the alarm in opposition to reductions in bedside nursing staff at the hospital, part of a “co-caring” plan, which nurses say jeopardizes patient safety.
In October, nurses held a press conference to speak out against reduced staffing and announced the filing of an Unfair Labor Practice due to Providence’s refusal to bargain over the matter. The three new charges are based on illegal actions that took place during and after the event.
During the press conference, Providence illegally surveilled nurses participating in the event. Providence managers stood in the hospital lobby to observe who attended the event and instructed a charge nurse to report if anyone left her unit, chilling the willingness of nurses to engage in this protected concerted activity.
Following a November bargaining session over the co-caring model, Providence issued a “coaching and counseling” to a union member who had attended the session, claiming that the behavior of the nurse (who nodded, pointed, and said, “Exactly!”, in agreeing with a coworker) was “uncivil, unkind, [and] overall negative”.
Additionally, Providence illegally polled nurses in an attempt to undermine and subvert ongoing negotiations with AaNA related to the implementation of the co-caring model and safe staffing.
“We are extremely disappointed by Providence’s pattern of violating the law through these anti-union tactics that are designed to discourage nurses from advocating for safe staffing and participating in union activism,” said Terra Colegrove, president of the Providence Registered Nurses bargaining unit of AaNA.
“That’s why we have filed these additional Unfair Labor Practice charges. Our priority is to defend nurses’ rights to bargain collectively and engage in protected job actions while advocating for our patients. Providence must be held accountable for interfering with nurses’ rights.”
Despite Providence’s attempts to crush nurse activism, nurses continue to fight for safe staffing and stand up for their workplace rights. “Nurses remain united in our belief that our community deserves high quality care and we won’t be intimidated into silence. We have an obligation to stand up for what’s right – whether it’s for nurses’ rights or for what’s right for our patients.”