Registered nurses in 16 states and the District of Columbia are planning a national “Day of Action” by engaging in strikes, picketing, leafleting, rallies, and candlelight vigils on Wednesday, November 12, in support of demands by National Nurses United (“NNU”) for tougher Ebola safety precautions in the nation’s hospitals.  As we reported previously, NNU has launched a multi-pronged campaign to achieve increased training and protection for nurses who may be called upon to treat Ebola patients.  Wednesday’s Day of Action is the latest development in that campaign.

The NNU is demanding optimal personal protective equipment for nurses and other caregivers who interact with Ebola patients. Specifically, full-body hazmat suits that meet the American Society for Testing and Materials F1670 standard for blood penetration, F1671 standard for viral penetration, and that leave no skin exposed or unprotected, and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-approved powered air purifying respirators with an assigned protection factor of at least 50.  The union is also demanding that hospitals provide extensive hands-on training for RNs and other health workers who might encounter an Ebola patient, including ongoing education and review of the use of personal protective equipment and infection control protocols.

Actions in support of these measures include a two-day strike at 86 Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics in California, starting on November 11, by 18,000 RNs and nurse practitioners who have been engaged in negotiations with Kaiser for several months.  The planned strike cites Ebola preparedness as part of a broader protest alleging the erosion of patient care standards.  In a November 10 statement, Kaiser vigorously disputed the NNU’s claims and expressed disappointment at the planned job action.

Additional strikes will involve roughly 600 RNs at two other California hospitals – Sutter Tracy and Watsonville General Hospital – and 400 RNs at Providence Hospital in Washington D.C., where nurses voted to unionize last December.  Additional events include picketing, rallies, and vigils at hospitals and government buildings (including the White House) in Washington, D.C.; New York; Chicago; Houston; St. Louis; Kansas City; Las Vegas; Lansing, Michigan; Massillon, Ohio; Augusta, Georgia; Bar Harbor, Maine; Durham, North Carolina; St. Paul, Minnesota; Memphis, Tennessee; and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, while nurses in Massachusetts are planning to distribute leaflets at commuter stations.

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Photo of Scott Faust Scott Faust

Scott A. Faust is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department, co-head of the Strategic Corporate Planning Group and a member of the Labor-Management Relations Group. He focuses his practice on all aspects of labor and employment law, and regularly handles…

Scott A. Faust is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department, co-head of the Strategic Corporate Planning Group and a member of the Labor-Management Relations Group. He focuses his practice on all aspects of labor and employment law, and regularly handles collective bargaining negotiations, arbitration, mediation, counseling and litigation of labor and employment disputes on behalf of his clients.

Labor-Management Relations

Scott represents employers in collective bargaining negotiations, grievance arbitrations, union organizing campaigns, work stoppages, labor injunction proceedings and proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board. He also has extensive experience advising distressed companies and their creditors, as well as buyers and sellers involved in M&A transactions in labor-intensive industries. Scott has negotiated numerous collective bargaining agreements with the United Steelworkers in more than a dozen U.S. states as well as in Canada. He also has negotiated agreements with the United Auto Workers, Canadian Auto Workers, SEIU, Teamsters, Machinists, Operating Engineers, Carpenters, Painters, United Plant Guard Workers, Electrical Workers, Sheet Metal Workers, Chemical Workers, Food and Commercial Workers, Massachusetts Nurses Association and Typographers unions.

Employment Litigation and Counseling

Scott represents employers in labor and employment disputes in state and federal courts and administrative agencies, as well as in mediation and arbitration. Cases he has handled include matters involving wrongful discharge, ERISA, employment discrimination, related employment torts, enforcement of and challenges to non-competition agreements, and administrative proceedings before state and federal agencies. He has litigated cases in state and federal courts in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Utah, Colorado and North Carolina, including appeals to the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First and Tenth Circuits.  He also provides day-to-day counseling on general employment matters, including equal employment opportunity and discrimination issues, development of employment policies, workplace restructuring, and employment law compliance.

Thought Leadership

Scott has published articles and given recent presentations on such subjects as Labor and Employee Benefits Issues in Corporate TransactionsIssues and Opportunities in Labor Intensive M&A TransactionsTrends in Private Sector Collective BargainingElectronic Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceDuty to Provide Information in BargainingNLRA Compliance Issues, and Strikes in the Health Care Industry. Scott has been ranked in Chambers USA as a leader in labor and employment law.