Registered nurses at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, Calif., have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to request a secret-ballot union election.
The hospital's 850 nurses are voting to join the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United. Issues behind the organization push include inadequate staffing and lack of respect for nurses' opinions when it comes to patient care, according to a union news release.
The hospital, which is part of Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health, has not been organized since it opened in 1970, according to a Sacramento Business Journal report.
Hospital officials emphasized the two groups can solve their issues without a union. "I firmly believe we can continue to accomplish our goals without the involvement of an outside third party," CEO Daryn Kumar told the Sacramento Business Journal. "Memorial Medical Center has a long history of providing a respectful and rewarding work environment, opportunities for growth and a competitive benefits package for all our employees."
The NLRB now will set a date for the federally supervised secret-ballot election.
In 2013, National Nurses United won 100 percent of its representation elections.
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