Registered nurses and other concerned West Virginians will hold a press conference Thursday to support Governor Earl Ray Tomblin's expected veto of the controversial so-called "right-to-work" legislation that will soon be sent to his desk.

They are also calling on legislators not to override the governor's expected veto because enactment of a “right-to-work” bill would cause serious harm to West Virginia patients and families, say West Virginia RNs.

What: Press Conference: Nurses Speak Out on Dangers to Patients and Families of Proposed "Right-to-Work" Legislation.
When: 11:00 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016
Where: West Virginia State Capitol stairs, 900 Kanawha Blvd. East, Charleston, W.Va.

West Virginia RNs, who are affiliated with National Nurses United, the largest U.S. organization of nurses, note that health standards are particularly at risk.

In, 20 of 24 key measures affecting public health and safety “right-to-work” states, rank lower on average in poverty rates children, infant morality, cardiovascular deaths, access to primary care physicians and mental health services, infectious disease control, occupational fatalities, and many other factors compiled by America’s Health Rankings http://www.americashealthrankings.org/.

“Right-to-work” laws undermine the ability of workers to act collectively through their democratically elected unions to advocate for the public interest as well as their own living and workplace standards.

For nurses, that is particularly ominous in eroding their ability to protect and improve patient protections.

“When people think of unions they think of the history of labor in West Virginia, the battle at Blair Mountain or Matewan, but what people don't realize is how important unions are to West Virginia today,” said Brenda Meadwell, a lifetime Bluefield, WV resident who works as a labor and delivery RN at Bluefield Regional Medical Center. “RNs see everyday the effects at the bedside and we rely on a strong union voice to speak up for our patients and communities.”  

"Union RNs are able to be stronger advocates for our patients, so for me it’s pretty simple: strong unions mean healthier patients,” said Jo Rodebaugh, RN at Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Lewisburg, WV.

RNs are calling on lawmakers to respect all workers’ rights to collectively bargain and associate.

In addition to lower public health standards, “right-to-work” states also are marked by lower wages than states without those laws, nurses noted.

Nurses urged West Virginians to call their state representatives through the stop #righttowork hotline at 866-829-3298 to register their opposition to the bill to urge them stand with workers and patients.