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Advocate found in violation
federal labor law
OCTOBER 2005-The National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB) found Advocate South Suburban
Hospital in violation of federal labor law when it
questioned and threatened reprisals of one of its pro-union
employees. Specific violations of the National Labor
Relations Act include that Advocate South Suburban:
coercively interrogated employees about their union
sympathies, created the impression employees were under
surveillance for their union activity, and threatened
employees with unspecified reprisal because of union
activity.
The unfair labor practice
complaint alleged that Sue Hall, a certified nursing
assistant at Advocate South Suburban, was under surveillance
and interrogated about her union activities by her
supervisor and was threatened with unspecified reprisals.
Hall also testified that a security officer threatened she
would be arrested if she distributed union literature on
premises of the hospital.
Although Advocate was found
guilty of breaking the law, their only punishment is an
order to hang a notice to employees. Such an innocuous
punishment speaks to why the NLRB fails workers. Advocate
broke the law by threatening workers trying to form a union,
and the only remedy from the current system is to
hang a sign saying it should not have happened, and it will
not happen again.
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