Nurses to hold a public action in front of Framingham City Hall on October 17 as they advocate for patient safety and respect by organizing as a union with the MNA
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Registered nurses who care for patients at Framingham Union Hospital will hold a banner outside Framingham City Hall on Tuesday, October 17 starting at 4 p.m. to shine a public light on their advocacy for patient safety and professional respect as they approach an election to unionize with the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA).
Event Information
Date: Tuesday, October 17Time: 4 p.m. until dark
Location: In front of Framingham City Hall, 150 Concord St., Framingham, MA
Details: Nurses will unveil a banner that says, “We’re putting the union in Framingham Union for better patient care.”
Framingham Union nurses filed notice with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on September 12 seeking an election to join the MNA to exercise their strong, united voice to improve conditions for patients, nurses, and their colleagues. There are approximately 280 nurses eligible to be part of the union. The NLRB will determine eligibility and set the election date.
As part of their election filing, the nurses held a press conference after a supermajority of Framingham Union nurses signed union cards and MetroWest Medical Center CEO John Whitlock, Jr., CPA, CGMA failed to respond to a request to voluntarily recognize the nurses’ union. The nurses tried to receive recognition rather than an election to ensure precious hospital resources were put into patient care rather than union-busting consultants.
“An overwhelming majority of Registered Nurses at Framingham Union Hospital have decided that we would like to have a real and independent voice on all decisions that affect us, the work we do and the patients we take care of,” the nurses wrote in their letter to the CEO. “We would like to be real partners with you in setting priorities for our workplace and ensuring a healthy future for Framingham.” The main themes nurses have identified for why they are joining the MNA include:
· To improve nurses’ ability to provide quality safe patient care.
· To promote a safe and healthy working environment.
· To revive and preserve a sense of pride, morale, and respect in their community hospital.
· To feel valued, treated with respect as a profession and satisfaction in their work.
The MNA is the largest union and professional organization of nurses and healthcare professionals in Massachusetts. It represents 25,000 members in healthcare facilities across the state, including nurses at more than 70 percent of the Commonwealth’s acute care hospitals. The MNA is led by a board of directors that is directly elected by its membership and consists of front-line nurses and other healthcare professionals.
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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 25,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
