NEW ORLEANS — LCMC officials are in talks with representatives from the largest nurses' union in the county, National Nurses United.
LCMC has confirmed to WWL-TV that the two parties are meeting to discuss "the status of the election" which essentially means they’re discussing some of the details surrounding the voting process, like determining which nurses specifically will be voting to decide if University Medical Center will be the first unionized hospital in the state of Louisiana.
Nurses at UMC have been waiting for today's meeting since they filed paperwork to start the unionization process with federal regulators back on October 12th. This hearing comes after a large group of registered nurses delivered a petition to management Monday pushing for a vote to confirm their union status.
In a statement released to hospital staff, LCMC Chief Executive Officer Greg Feirn said there have been reports of "bullying in patient care areas by certain employees, along with antagonistic behavior" as a result of this union push.
The memo read in part quote, "A so-called “march on the boss” occurred at University Medical Center by individuals representing the National Nurses United Union.
This kind of demonstration of claimed power does nothing to further patient care, staffing, or safety. Our hospitals thrive on the values of respect and collaboration. In the interest of maintaining an environment conducive to our shared purpose of providing excellent patient care in a healing atmosphere, I urge all employees to be respectful of the rights and opinions of others."
Feirn also said in the memo that the "march on the boss" showed a complete disregard" for patient safety and other team members.
Nurses like Tatiana Mukhtar said, "They wouldn't even take our petitions and later we receive that email. We are disappointed and frustrated that management would choose words as such for the email, and we are very disappointed that they wouldn't even meet with us face to face."
Mukhtar said, most nurses simply want a seat at the table, and someone to advocate for them. Something she believes a union can help with, "I think top three for me is safe staffing, workplace violence protections is another one and just us having a seat at the table when it comes to decision making that directly affects us and the care that we give our patients."
Mukhtar says nurses are fired up and won’t stop until they get the respect, she says they deserve.
"We don't want pizza parties. We don't want lawn chairs. We don't want water bottles. We want a seat at the table when it comes to decision-making for us and for our patient care."
In response to complaints that nurses say they have way too many patients to care for safely, LCMC Health said, "We believe the best staffing decisions for patient care are made closest to the bedside. Hospital leaders work with nurses and care team members daily to develop staffing plans based on patient levels, care needs, acuity levels, and, first and foremost, the safety of patients. Hospitals are dynamic environments where care team members must rely on open communication, collaboration, and focus to deliver the best patient care."
Right now, there is no clear timeline on when nurses will know when or if they will vote to determine their union status.
If they can move forward with the vote Mukhtar said they have more than the 30% of nurses needed to vote in favor of the union.
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