MSNBC: Unions stand to gain from proposed legislation

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26904053/

Act would let workers bypass a vote, fine employers who violate rights


Duane Hoffmann / msnbc.com


By Eve Tahmincioglu
msnbc.com contributor
updated 5:24 p.m. CT, Mon., Oct. 6, 2008


Eve Tahmincioglu
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Ann Andersen, a registered nurse in the emergency department of Naples Community Hospital in Florida, wanted a union so nurses at the facility could have more say about patient care.

She figured the nurses there were on their way to forming one after more than 50 percent of the workers signed union cards. Organizers filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board on Aug. 30, 2007, to hold an election.

But more than a year later, the nurses still haven’t been able to hold a vote.

The Service Employees International Union, the group organizing the Naples nurses, filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board earlier this year claiming unfair labor practices.

But the hospital denies that it has delayed organizing efforts.

“We don’t believe there is a need for outsiders to intervene in our institution," says spokeswoman Debbie Curry. “For months we’ve wished a vote was immediate to eliminate any distractions from our primary job, which is to care for patients.”

To Anderson, who says hospital officials are using delaying tactics and even intimidating nurses who want a union, the delay in the union vote “doesn’t make sense.”

FULL 2 page story at link.