Saint Vincent Nurses have right to rebuff Union officials’ demands that workers abandon their patients amidst pandemic

Worcester, MA (March 16, 2021) – National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys have issued a special legal notice to the approximately 800 nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts, affected by a strike ordered by Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) union officials that began on March 8.

The legal notice informs rank-and-file nurses of the rights MNA bosses won’t tell them about, including their right to refuse to abandon their patients and keep working to support their families despite the union-ordered strike. The notice discusses why workers across the country frequently turn to the National Right to Work Foundation for free legal aid in such situations.

“This situation raises serious concerns for employees who believe there is much to lose from a union-boss ordered strike,” the notice reads. “Employees have the legal right to rebuff union officials’ strike demands, but it is important for them to be fully informed before they do so.”

The full notice is available at www.nrtw.org/saint-vincent-legal-notice.

The notice outlines the process that Saint Vincent nurses should follow if they want to exercise their right to return to work during the strike and avoid punishment by union bosses, complete with sample union membership resignation letters.

Further, the notice reminds the nurses of their rights to cut off all union dues payments in the absence of a monopoly bargaining contract with the hospital. The notice encourages employees to seek free legal aid from the Foundation if they experience union resistance as they attempt to exercise any of these rights.

The Foundation has defended nurses in a number of recent cases. It provided free legal aid to Jeanette Geary, who filed charges against United Nurses and Allied Professionals bosses in Rhode Island who ignored her right not to fund union lobbying. Foundation staff attorneys are also assisting Texas nurse Marissa Zamora in her National Labor Relations Board case against officials of the National Nurses Organizing Committee for concealing a “neutrality agreement” struck in secret between union bosses and the hospital company that was apparently designed to limit nurses’ ability to exercise their right to remove the union.

“Saint Vincent nurses should know they unequivocally have the right to reject union boss strike orders and continue to care for those in need,” commented National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix.  “Nurses who question whether the ongoing union-ordered strike is really best for themselves, their families, and their patients cannot be forced by union officials to stop working.”

“Rank-and-file nurses at Saint Vincent should immediately contact the Foundation for free legal aid if MNA bosses violate their legal rights,” added Mix.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.