Local 1111 Members Stand Up for Their Union Rights, Bring Charges Against Employer

Nurses at Cayuga Medical Center (CMC) in Ithaca, NY, fought back against a tough anti-union campaign to win their union in January, voting overwhelmingly in late January to join CWA Local 1111.

But their fight for their union isn’t over yet, even as other units in the same hospital system have filed for their own union elections.

On April 6th, CWA filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the hospital over CMC’s continued attempts at union-busting and dragging their feet on bargaining a first contract with the nurses.

Instead of joining CWA members at the bargaining table, CMC management told hospital staff that they cannot talk to each other about the union and has been removing union flyers in public areas — violations of federal labor law. The hospital has also been slow to respond to workers’ demand to bargain, bargaining in bad faith. 

“The administration's actions feel disrespectful of our legal rights, and it concerns me that there is such opposition to something that statistically will improve outcomes for patients,” said Shane Snyder, In-Patient Wound RN. “We voted overwhelmingly to unionize months ago, but we still haven't formally started negotiations. We want to start bargaining our contract, and I urge management to stop delaying and work with us to find a compromise.”

The nurses are fighting for their first union contract to address staffing issues and poor working conditions impacting their ability to provide patient care.

Read more here.