Today, nurses and other caregivers represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) plan to take to the streets of downtown Los Angeles to protest a recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling which they say unfairly brands many in their ranks as supervisors. Earlier this week we reported that the NLRB handed down a ruling which held that, among other things, some charge nurses can legally be treated as supervisors, making them ineligible to join a union. While the American Hospital Association and U.S. Chamber of Commerce have argued in favor of broadening the legal definition of "supervisor," nursing unions oppose it vigorously, contending that this is a bald-faced union-busting tactic. The California Nurses Association and National Nurses Organizing Committee says it will call a strike at any facility that attempts to implement the decision.
For more background on the protest:
- see the United Healthcare Workers West release
- read the Associated Press report on the ruling