When management plays rough

New Jersey Nurse, Apr 2004 by Genovese, Mark

Hostile anti-union campaign at Somerset, NYSNA files charges

Not many Registered Nurses at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, NJ, had heard of Brent Yessin when NYSNA announced plans for a union election on Feb. 5. But as an anti-union consultant hired by the hospital, he orchestrated a campaign of fear and lies that prevented NYSNA from becoming the nurses' collective bargaining representative-for now.

Yessin is one of more than 10,000 active union busters in the nation who make a living demoralizing and intimidating employees who try to unionize their workplaces. Following his orders, Somerset Medical Center management fired RNs who were NYSNA supporters, threatened Filipino nurses with deportation, and changed other nurses to "supervisory" status, to make them ineligible to vote.

During the election, one RN arriving to vote was told on the spot that she was being terminated. Meanwhile NYSNA staff members who were supposed to observe the voting were held by management against their will in the medical center library.

The hospital disconnected telephones of nurses living in medical center dormitories to prevent them from receiving calls from NYSNA supporters, and prohibited nurses from wearing NYSNA buttons and tee shirts-claiming it violated the dress code-while anti-union nurses were encouraged to wear "Vote No" shirts and buttons.

Somerset management tampered with a list of RNs it was required to present to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) so that it contained incorrect and incomplete addresses. Nurses were required to attend meetings at which they were told lies about NYSNA's contracts, dues structure, budget allocations, and policies on strikes and ratifying contracts. After one of these meetings, the nurses discovered that their patients had been neglected because management had not assigned anyone to cover for them. Another mandatory meeting was scheduled at the last minute to prevent nurses from attending a NYSNA open house to receive accurate information about the union.

As a last resort, the medical center's CEO even appeared at a mandatory meeting, begging with tears in his eyes for "one last chance." This performance, too, was directed by the anti-union consultant.

Contending that management's actions were a blatant violation of federal labor law, NYSNA has filed a series of objections with the NLRB.

The Somerset election is a cautionary tale for nurses working in other hospitals who want to organize: Prepare for union busting firms, the distortions they spread, and the intimidation they foster.

How can nurses defend themselves? With two powerful weapons-education and solidarity. Recognize the signs that a union buster is at work. Understand that these actions are against the law and that the law is on your side. Make sure that all nurses are aware that they are being manipulated. As Martin Levitt, author of Confessions of a Union Buster, described his former career to an audience of NYSNA members in 2002, if you were an employee seeking to unionize, "It was my objective to destroy your personal life, your career, family, and whatever else. You were not people. You were a threat to management." By understanding what is going on, you can stay strong and keep fighting for your rights.

"The level of union-busting was relentless and brutal," said Lorraine Seidel, RN, director of NYSNA's Economic & General Welfare Program. "The nurses who supported NYSNA fought until the bitter end. We're proud of them because they're not defeated-they're only even more determined to continue their struggle to secure their collective-bargaining rights."