As members of the community and patients of Cayuga Medical Center, it has come to our attention that the registered nurses at CMC have banded together to form a union: Cayuga United, in collaboration with Communication Workers of America. Nurses have raised the alarm at working conditions in the hospital--they report high turnover rate, unsafe staffing ratios, and long shifts with no breaks. We have seen nurses using all of their energy to keep up with basic tasks, and it would appear that hospital administration has done little to address this. We believe that a union for nurses will strengthen the hospital, improve working conditions, and will help make the hospital better for our community. We trust our nurses to know what’s best. They are experts in patient care.

We are especially appalled to hear that CMC has hired anti-union persuaders from LRI Consulting Inc., a firm that has historically helped many corporations thwart union campaigns. CMC is spending public resources and hospital funds toward this rather than on the patient care that our community needs. We are concerned about multiple documented deficiency findings reported in state and federal inspections, including with respect to emergency care and the dangerously long wait times there. We deserve better, and the nurses who care for us deserve better.

We demand that CMC put an immediate end to all anti-union tactics and respect nurses’ legal right to organize. This includes immediately terminating all union busting tactics such as round-the-clock captive audience meetings, and stopping the use of LRI Consulting’s services. Put the money you are blowing on union busting into investing in staffing the hospital, and prioritize patient care.