Ann Kettering Sincox, MNA
517.349.5640, ext. 242
517.256.2312 (cell), ann.sincox@minurses.org

or

Diedre Murch, MNA
517.349.5640, ext. 220
517.449.7316

August 18, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NLRB Overrules Employer’s Objections to Union Election for Registered Nurses at Hackley Visiting Nurse Services & Hospice

Muskegon – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling that the Employer’s objections to the union election “be overruled in their entirety” and that the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) be certified as the exclusive bargaining representative for Registered Nurses at Hackley Visiting Nurse Services & Hospice, Inc.

On July 10th, in an NLRB election, the RNs at Hackley VNS & Hospice voted for the MNA for union representation.  The Employer filed objections to the election, stating that the upcoming merger between the organization and Mercy Homecare rendered the election “unnecessary and improper.”   
Kathy Welsheimer, RN at Hackley Visiting Nurse Services & Hospice and a member of the Organizing Committee, stated: “We are pleased that the NLRB has issued their recommendation for certification of our bargaining unit.  Our Employer has dedicated a great deal of resources to defeating the Union of our choice, both before and since the election.  We look forward to refocusing energy and resources where they belong: on providing the highest quality nursing care to our patients, their families, and the entire Muskegon community.  For the first time in a long time we feel empowered and know that together with MNA we can make a difference in the care our patients receive.”

Nurses are moving ahead with the process of establishing their bargaining unit and have begun to elect officers, form committees, and develop proposals for a first contract.

The Michigan Nurses Association is the largest, most effective union for RNs in Michigan. As the voice of all registered nurses in Michigan, MNA advocates for nurses and their patients at the State Capitol, in the community and at the bargaining table.  MNA is a constituent member of the United American Nurses and an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.