A battle between Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, Calif., and the California Nurses Association will go to trial, according to a Pasadena Star-News report.
Last week, the National Labor Relations Board issued a formal complaint against the hospital after finding merit in allegations by two nurses who claim Huntington Memorial let them go for their unionization efforts, according to the report.
The NLRB found merit in the allegations in February. However, it said it would give Huntington Memorial time to settle the matter out of court before authorizing an official complaint and scheduling a hearing, according to the report.
No settlement has been reached, and an administrative law judge is scheduled to hear the case June 6.
Huntington Memorial Hospital has described efforts by the CNA/NNU as "a self-serving campaign to defame our 125-year-old institution," according to the Pasadena Star-News.
"It is not uncommon for the CNA/NNU to mischaracterize the federal labor law process and accuse an employer of violating the law," hospital spokesman Derek Clark said in a statement, according to the report. "This CNA/NNU tactic is especially common when it is trying to overturn an election it has lost, as is the case here where the majority of our nurses voted against union representation last year."
In the complaint against Huntington Memorial, the NLRB alleges the hospital blocked off-duty employees and union representatives access to the facility; interrogated employees about unionization efforts; barred employees from talking about misconduct; and used "surveillance" to keep track of employees pushing for unionization, according to the report. Additionally, according to the report, the NLRB alleges the two nurses fired in August, Allysha Almada and Vicki Lin, were let go to discourage involvement with the union.
The nurses seek reinstatement with back pay for the months they spent without work.
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