Olympia Fields nurses vote to join National Nurses Organizing Committee

Registered nurses at Olympia Fields Hospital in Illinois have voted by an 82 percent margin to join the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC), an affiliate of National Nurses United.

The nurses stated the move is intended to improve patient care by providing a platform to influence decisions regarding staffing, working conditions, recruitment, and retention. The unionization effort follows a recent strike by staff members protesting alleged retaliation from the hospital’s owner, Prime Healthcare.

Following the election victory, the nurses intend to select a bargaining team to negotiate their first collective bargaining agreement and seek the reinstatement of coworkers they claim were illegally disciplined.