Hopkins, nurses reach settlement over unionization dispute

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Johns Hopkins Hospital has reached a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board that will allow the hospital’s nurses to pursue unionization if they want.

Under the agreement, the hospital will post signs that say it will not prohibit nurses from talking about the union, will not create the impression hospital management is watching out for union activities and will not ask nurses about the union.

“This settlement makes clear that nurses have the right to form a union, we have a right to speak with our coworkers about a union, and Johns Hopkins does not have the legal right to target and intimidate nurses who engage in union activity,” Alex Laslett, a Hopkins nurse, said in a statement. “We are organizing at Johns Hopkins because we know a union affords nurses the protection we need to advocate freely for the best care for our patients.”

The union had filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that the hospital was working against nurses seeking to form a union. Johns Hopkins nurses had invited the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United to assist in their organizing efforts.

“We are pleased to have reached a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board regarding the union’s allegations,” Kim Hoppe, a hospital spokeswoman, said in a statement. “Contrary to the NNUs misrepresentations about what the NLRB found, the settlement agreement specifies that the NLRB made no determination that the Johns Hopkins Hospital violated federal labor law.

“The statements in the Notice to Employees that is part of this settlement affirm the hospital’s longstanding commitment to protect nurses’ rights under federal labor law,” she continued. “They do not suggest or imply that the hospital has acted improperly, and the settlement agreement specifically states that there is no admission of liability. The settlement also does not affect the hospital’s right to maintain its established policies regarding access to unit break rooms.”