Hillary Clinton Supports Nurses’ Efforts to Organize Without Harassment (no MSM coverage)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.afscme.org/publications/17537.cfm

January 30, 2008

The firing earlier this month of RN Deirdre Kirkwood for her efforts to join United Nurses Associations of California/UHCP/NUHHCE (UNAC), has prompted U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton to call on the administrators of Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center in Riverside, CA, to end its harassment of the nurses who want to join the AFSCME affiliate.


‘I WANT MY JOB BACK’ – Deirdre Kirkwood, an RN who was fired in January from Parkview Hospital in Riverside, CA, for trying to join UNAC, speaks out at a Jan. 18 press conference.

Photo Credit: Russell Miller


In her letter (PDF), the Democratic Presidential candidate tells Parkview CEO Doug Drumwright to…

“… allow the nurses to hold a fair union election process, free from intimidation and harassment. The nurses should be able to decide if they want a union without interference from management.”

In a charge filed on behalf of Kirkwood (PDF)with the National Labor Relations Board, UNAC accuses Parkview administrators of …

“… threatening employees that unionization would inevitably cause a closure of the hospital.”

Kirkwood says she worked seven years at Parkview “with no write ups” until she was fired without notice on Jan. 4. Here’s a brief overview from UNAC.

In her own moving account (PDF), Kirkwood vows to fight to regain her job, and makes this appeal to her fellow RNs at Parkview:

“Please choose courage over fear. Management is counting on you being too afraid to help me get my job back and too afraid to form a union. I encourage you to … resolve to form a union, so that this type of unfair firing can’t happen anymore.”

To read news coverage of the Kirkwood firing and NLRB filing, read this story from the Inland Empire Weekly and coverage from The Press-Enterprise. You can also listen to UNAC’s Jan. 18 news conference (QuickTime file), reported by Steven Cuevas of KPCC, the local National Public Radio station.

You can forward your own personal message of support to Kirkwood. Here’s a timeline (PDF) of the campaign, which involves some 300 Parkview RNs to organize with UNAC. Also, check out this blog about Kirkwood by Kevin Byrne of Voice@Work.