Duke Notified of Unfair Labor Claims in Nurses Election

The union seeking to represent Duke nurses has filed five unfair labor charges against Duke with the National Labor Relations Board. Hospital Chief Executive Officer Michael Israel said the charges appear groundless.

A NLRB vote is scheduled for June 2 and 3 to determine whether approximately 2,500 Duke registered nurses will be unionized by Local 465 of the International Union of Operating Engineers.

Duke was notified May 12 that the union had filed two unfair labor practice charges and on May 16 that three additional charges had been filed. The first two alleged that Duke had "solicited grievances in order to discourage union activity and organizing" and "implemented benefits in order to discourage union activity and organizing." The three charges filed this week stated that Duke "has interfered with, restrained and coerced its employees in their rights to organize a union."

Israel said that while the university does not have details on the specifics of each charge, "We believe them to be completely unfounded."