Caregivers at New London, Conn.-based Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and Lawrence + Memorial Medical Group are weighing in on a complaint issued by the National Labor Relations Board against New London medical office building administrators.
The complaint, which was issued last month by the board's regional director, alleges Lawrence + Memorial Medical Group supervisors used "unfair labor practices" in order to suppress New London outpatient facility employees' organizing efforts, according to a news release from AFT Connecticut, a statewide labor federation of more than 90 local unions.
An administrative law judge is set to hear testimony on the issue in March.
"This should be a wake-up call for the leadership of our community's health network," L+M registered nurse and AFT Local 5049 president Lisa D'Abrosca said in a news release, referring to Lawrence + Memorial Corporation, the parent nonprofit operating L+M and LMMG. "They should be ashamed that managers at an outpatient facility with the L+M name broke the law."
L+M sleep lab technician and AFT Local 5051 president Stephanie Johnson referenced an advertisement that ran last November, one year after the 2013 strike by L+M's RNs, LPNs and techs.
According to a news release, the advertisement "exposed the more than $100,000 that had been spent in order to subvert LMMG employees' legal rights to unite for a voice in decisions impacting patient care."
"We warned the board last fall that administration was again wasting patient care dollars," Ms. Johnson said in the release. "Now they know that managers' tactics against the caregivers at LMMG weren't just costly; they were illegal."
Michael O'Farrell, spokesman for L+M Medical Group, expressed disappointment that the NLRB and the AFT union decided to move forward with the matter.
"In early November, the Lawrence + Memorial Medical Group staff working in the Medical Office Building voted 41-18 against union representation, a result that was not objected to or challenged by the union," Mr. O'Farrell said in a statement.
"Given this, we had hoped AFT would respect the very strong vote of the staff to reject union representation and put this behind for everyone – particularly for our patients."
He added, "L+MMG is also disappointed by the inflammatory language and inaccurate information regarding this matter. Proceeding forward to a formal hearing is not a finding or decision against L+MMG — it is only that the NLRB believes the matter needs to be presented to an administrative law judge. L+MMG is confident that all of its actions have been lawful."
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