New York State Nurses Association Hails National Labor Relations Board Regional Office Decision to Prosecute Federal Labor Law Violations at Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville

NEW YORK, March 3, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) today hailed a finding by Region 3 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that Nathan Littauer Hospital (NLH) in Gloversville violated federal law and called for a hearing on April 18th regarding the violations. 

Region 3 of the NLRB has charged Nathan Littauer with violating Federal Labor Law by:

• Stating that it preferred to hire an applicant for a posted position who does not complain about terms and conditions of employment.
• Refusing to hire a specific nurse for the advertised position because of her union activity.
• Making unlawful unilateral changes regarding work hours and overtime pay.  

Other alleged violations committed by management at Nathen Littauer Hospital are still being investigated by the NLRB.

This federal complaint comes on the heels of a one-day unfair labor practice strike which occurred on Wednesday, January 6 by nurses at the hospital. After the one-day strike, hospital management locked the NYSNA nurses out of the facility for an additional four days, and replaced them with unproven nurses shipped in from across the country.

NYSNA members have been working without a contract for two years, and hospital management delayed in scheduling a time to resume bargaining. Unfortunately, hospital management often seems determined to turn its back on nurses and the NLH community.   

"This complaint makes it very clear: hospital management broke federal law and retaliated against me as member of the New York State Nurses Association," said Marion Enright, RN, a nurse who was mentioned in the complaint. "With this complaint, I urge hospital management to come to the table, negotiate in good faith, and offer a fair contract because the people of Gloversville and our patients deserve nothing less." 

One of the central issues in the contract negotiations involve staffing shortfalls. It is an issue that is essential to the well-being of our patients. Management must realize that there is a staffing crisis at the hospital with potentially dangerous nurse-to-patient ratios that may have put patients in jeopardy. Several key departments are consistently short staffed. Our members have spoken out and filed formal complaints about these serious staffing issues, yet management has failed to act to correct these conditions. This is completely unacceptable to us.

NYSNA is adamant that our patients receive safe, quality care in all the hospital units and at all times. 

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) represents more than 37,000 members in New York State. We are New York's largest union and professional association for registered nurses. For more information, please visit our website at www.nysna.org.

SOURCE New York State Nurses Association

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http://www.nysna.org