“We believe this is illegal because there is no evidence of the ‘impasse’ Ascension is claiming,” INA legal counsel Matt Bartmes said in the union’s news release. “But beyond that, we have only found a handful of examples of a company attempting to push through a contract that has been soundly rejected by a majority of its workforce.”
- Union nurses voted on the contract proposal in December, and only 21% voted to approved it.
The INA filed its unfair labor practice claim with the National Labor Relations Board in December after being told by Ascension that it intended to implement its final offer, INA Lead Organizer Sarah Hurd said. She acknowledged a ruling by the board could take months.
In the meantime, the union is considering other options that include short-term strikes. Nurses already have gone on two two-day strikes based on unfair labor practice claims.
- Hurd said the union did not bring new proposals to the talks last week because it was told by Ascension that the hospital would not negotiate beyond the parameters of the final offer. But the union is willing to negotiate, she said.
“We are so far from impasse at this point,” Hurd said. “We have multiple areas of the contract where we have said we can and will move.”
https://www.shawlocal.com/the-herald-news/2024/01/09/ascension-to-implement-final-contract-offer-to-joliet-nurses-despite-union-rejecting-it/