Registered nurses at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston voted Thursday to join an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest registered nurse union in the U.S.
The 204-21 vote did not include nurses who were recently suspended or terminated by the hospital. The vote moves forward an effort to join the Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee.
Nurses at the 250-bed facility said they voted to join the union in order to have a say in making decisions that affect patient care, working conditions, staffing and recruitment and retention of experienced nurses, according to a news release.
“We’re so proud to join NNOC because we know we will win a contract that will make a drastic difference for our patients and for us as nurses to build a healthier community,” said Aaron McDaniel, a registered nurse in the intensive care unit.
Bargaining team
Central Maine Medical Center is part of Central Maine Healthcare, which was acquired earlier this year by Ontario, Calif.-based nonprofit Prime Healthcare Foundation Inc.
In August, registered nurses at Central Maine Medical Center filed paperwork to unionize amid demands for better nurse-to-patient ratios and adequate support staff.
The Maine State Nurses Association represents 4,000 nurses and other caregivers in Maine.
With the vote, nurses said they will continue to demand the reinstatement of 20 nurses who they said were illegally disciplined, with 15 fired and five suspended.
The nurses will begin to select their nurse bargaining team members in order to begin negotiations on their first collective bargaining agreement with Prime Healthcare.
