The federal board that oversees labor-management relations has thrown out the flawed union election last June at Sutter Memorial Medical Center in Modesto citing a pattern of coercion and other actions by hospital officials that violated the rights of registered nurses who were considering affiliation with the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United.

The ruling, by National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge Ariel Sotolongo, sets the stage for a new election at the hospital.

“Sutter’s behavior made a fair, democratic election impossible due to a disgraceful campaign of threats, chilling and incessant “rounding” by managers, and pulling RNs away from their patients to pressure them to vote against having a collective voice for their patients and their colleagues,” said Malinda Markowitz, RN, CNA co-president.

After extensive review and testimony from nurses and managers, Judge Sotolongo ruled that Sutter threatened nurses that the hospital would impose more onerous working conditions, cut benefits and freeze wages indefinitely if they voted to join CNA, among other lawless behavior.

Nurses who were targeted for the harassment and intimidation tactics said they felt vindicated by the Judge’s decision.

“We wanted a collective voice to improve the quality of patient care at Sutter Memorial and Sutter management resorted to expensive anti-union consultants who used outrageous and immoral methods to intimidate, harass, and coerce nurses, violating our right to a free and fair election,” said Melanie Thompson, RN, a critical care nurse at the hospital.

“Sutter should be ashamed and rethink its approach to its relationship with nurses. Silencing nurses’ effort to organize means undermining nurses’ duty to serve the patients’ interest as their advocates,” Thompson said.

Sutter’s hard line with their frontline registered nurses is endemic throughout the hospital chain, Markowitz notes. Similar tactics were employed by Sutter at two other hospitals where the RNs ultimately did succeed in voting for CNA representation, the California Pacific Medical Center Pacific campus in San Francisco and Sutter Tracy.

Additionally, at hospitals where CNA RNs presently has collective bargaining agreements, Sutter officials continue to demand massive cuts in patient care protections and nurses’ standards, one reason why CNA Sutter RNs have presently taken strike votes at Sutter hospitals in Auburn, Roseville, Santa Rosa, and Tracy.

In Modesto, CNA notes, Sutter stepped up its campaign of coercion within days of the nurses filing for a union election.

Managers were divided into teams and sent through the hospital at all hours to “round” on nurses—soliciting nurses’ concerns with the working conditions and other grievances with false promises they would be fixed if the nurses voted against unionization, while spreading a false message of fear and intimidation.

Additionally, Sutter brought in professional anti-union consultants to host mandatory, captive audience meetings where a variety of threats were leveled against nurses and their patients.

Sutter then used the information it gleaned through its unlawful rounding and mandatory meeting campaign to produce a professional movie it called “The Nightmare,” which it mailed to all nurses’ homes the week before the election. The video repeatedly threatened nurses with wage freezes, cuts in patient care conditions and the loss of benefits if they voted for CNA. The judge concluded that the entire video was a coercive attack on the nurses’ right to a free and fair election.

Markowitz praised the RNs at Modesto who fought through the intimidation campaign. “We are immensely proud of the courageous RNs who stood up to the deplorable behavior. The day is coming when Memorial RNs will have a more fair opportunity to win representation so they can effectively fight for the patient care improvements Memorial patients deserve.”