CWA: NLRB Decision Assaults Workers' Rights

For More Information: Candice Johnson, CWA Communications, 202-434-1168, cjohnson@cwa-union.org

Washington, D.C. -- Today's decision by the National Labor Relations Board in the Oakwood Healthcare Inc., case provides a road map for employers to strip nurses and other workers of their right to a union voice, the Communications Workers of America said.

"This decision sets a new standard for determining who is a supervisor, and encourages employers to make that determination," said CWA President Larry Cohen. "It's just the latest in a series of devastating actions by the NLRB to strip away workers' rights," he said.

"Under our federal law, workers are entitled to union representation and a voice on the job, and CWA will continue the fight to restore workplace democracy," Cohen said. The Bush-appointed majority even rejected calls from a bipartisan group of members of Congress to hold oral arguments on these cases.  

In their dissent, Board members Liebman and Walsh stress that the majority's decision "denies the protection of the Act to yet another group of workers, while strengthening the ability of employers to resist the unionization of other employees." 

In the Oakwood decision, one of three cases involving registered nurses and other skilled workers, the NLRB redefined supervisory duties and decided that a worker should be considered a supervisor if she or he assigns another employee to a particular unit, location or shift on a regular, even if infrequent basis, or spends as little as 10 to 15 percent of his or her time performing supervisory functions.  

For nurses, that means their critical role as a patient advocate is at risk, said CWA Representative Debora Hayes.

“Nurses are the frontline care givers in our hospitals, and the decisions we make and actions we take are critical to the recovery of our patients and the well-being of their families. The board’s move to restrict our voice is wrong, because it will arbitrarily prevent many nurses from carrying out one of our most important jobs -- advocating for quality patient care,” said Hayes, a member of CWA’s Health Care Coordinating Committee and a registered nurse.