Press Release
August 27, 2006
UNAP Files Unfair Labor Practice Charge Against Memorial Hospital.
Today, the UNAP, Local 5082, filed an unfair labor practice charge against Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island with the National Labor Relations Board [NLRB]. The basis of the charge is that the hospital ordered employees to remove Union buttons in violation of federal labor law. "The law permits employees to wear buttons that are harmless. The buttons Union members are wearing, like the buttons management is wearing are harmless. The hospital's insistence that employees remove them, therefore, is illegal," said Christopher Callaci who is a Field Representative for the Local and an attorney. "Apparently this employer is willing to do just about anything to silence employees," said Callaci.
"Telling our members to remove their buttons is not only illegal, it is the height of hypocrisy," said Rita Brennan, a registered nurse at Memorial. "They are letting managers, supervisors, administrators and non-union employees wear buttons, but are refusing to allow Union employees to wear buttons,"said Brennan. "If that is not discriminatory, I don"t know what is," said Brennan. The Union buttons speak to the issue of respect.
"The hospital's claim that they are concerned about the patients seeing the buttons is equally hypocritical," said Brennan. "Managers have been distributing anti-union literature throughout the hospital for weeks now. They have also been disrupting the delivery of care by insisting on discussing the labor dispute with employees while they are on duty," said Brennan.
The charge will be processed by the NLRB in Boston.