Central Maine Medical Center Nurses in Lewiston File to Unionize With MSNA with Supermajority Support

Registered nurses at Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC) in Lewiston held a rally on Monday to announce that they have filed to form a union with the Maine State Nurses Association/NNU. After the cards are verified by the National Labor Relations Board, the nurses will confer with hospital management to decide the details of a secret ballot election.

CMMC nurse Katie Grinnell, who has worked at the hospital for eight and a half years, told News Center Maine that having a union would mean the nurses "can have a say in what goes into patient care at the bedside." She said some of the nurses’ objectives include better nurse-to-patient ratios, adequate support staff, and appropriate lunch breaks and rest periods. Grinnell said that improving conditions for nurses would help them provide better care.

"We're the nurses at the bedside, and ultimately, we know what we need in order to give safe, quality care to our patients," Grinnell said. "Safe care saves lives."

CMMC is part of Prime Healthcare, the fourth largest for-profit health system in the country. Several other Prime Healthcare hospitals across the country also filed for union elections Monday, including Olympia Fields Hospital in Olympia Fields, IL, and St Francis Hospital in Evanston, IL. Grinnell told News Center that CMMC is her "home," having worked there for nearly a decade. She said that it is important for her to see community support for the union and that ultimately the union will help improve patient care.

"I love the hospital I work for; I love the community I serve, the patients that we serve there," she said, adding, "Any given day, it could be you or your loved one who finds themselves in that hospital bed. You're not a number; you are our mother, you are our brother, our aunt, our grandparent, our best friend; you are our community, and we are our community."