Nurses announced today that they reached a labor settlement with Munson Medical Center.
Munson allegedly threatened to discipline operating room nurse Heather Ruck who spoke publicly about working too many hours.
Ruck then contacted the Michigan Nurses Association, which recently started representing Munson nurses earlier this year.
The nurse association filed a grievance with the National Labor Relations Board agreed, which decided to hear the case.
Munson decided to settle instead of having a full-blown hearing.
“Munson Medical Center … had two options. It could either have a hearing where it could present its facts and its point of view, because our assessment is that Munson Medical Center fully complied with the law and did not violate labor law, or we could settle,” says Munson’s Attorney Rachel Roe.
The settlement states that Munson has to post signs around the hospital and on its intranet stating that nurses have the right to talk about their working conditions.
“I am excited because this settlemebt make Munson recognize our rights as RNs to raise concerns,” Ruck said in a statement. “We aren’t going to back down or be scared when it comes to talking about what’s best for our patients."