LEWISTON — Central Maine Medical Center has fired more than a dozen nurses, drawing sharp criticism from city leaders who say the terminations are retaliation for a unionizing effort.
CMMC confirmed Friday that 15 nurses have been fired, saying that “employment actions are based on documented violations of established hospital policies and standards.”
Local leaders from across the political spectrum said the firings appeared to be related to recent union activities, which would be in violation of state and federal law, and demanded the nurses be reinstated.
“(This) is just bad business and bad for our community,” Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said, later calling the actions “shortsighted and damaging.”
Nurses at CMMC filed for an election late last month to join the Maine State Nurses Association, which represents 4,000 nurses and caregivers across the state. During their campaign, nurses have advocated for improved patient care, safer staffing, better equipment and personnel retention. They will hold a vote Sept. 24.
On Tuesday, nurses and supporters held a demonstration outside the hospital.
In the time since the union filing, city leaders and union officials said, the nurses were suspended, with many of them later terminated.
Several groups and individuals, including the Maine AFL-CIO, have characterized the mass suspension as retaliation by Prime Healthcare, the parent company of the foundation that owns CMMC, against unionizing workers and have demanded the reinstatement of the nurses.
A CMMC spokesperson said Friday that no employee has been terminated due to union activity, which, they said, does not exempt employees from responsibilities “to uphold basic patient-care, safety, attendance and workplace hospital policies that apply to everyone.”
Violations for fired nurses include “patient abandonment; timekeeping violations; disruption of patient-care; and other conduct that interferes with patient care or patient safety,” the spokesperson said.
Matters related to five additional employees “remain pending due to violations of longstanding hospital policies and standards, including those needed to ensure patient care and safety,” the spokesperson said.
The hospital remains focused on providing safe, high-quality care, the spokesperson said.
“We respect the rights of every nurse to engage in legally protected activity and to make their own individual decision about union representation, including the right to support a union or to remain in a direct relationship with the hospital,” the spokesperson said. “We remain committed to working constructively with our nurses and addressing concerns in the best interests of our patients and community.”
Local leaders react
Local elected officials and candidates of both political parties spoke out in support of the nurses.
Rep. Julia McCabe, D-Lewiston, who is running for reelection to the Maine House District 93 seat, noted Thursday that the nurses affected are people “who have given years, even decades, to caring for our community.”
“Let go in a round of phone calls. Why?” McCabe said. “Because Prime does not want an empowered, unionized workforce. They want a divided one that they can control — in order to maximize profits. All of this, at the expense of patient care. Our nurses deserve better. Our community deserves better.”
Councilor Susan Longchamps, a Republican running for reelection in her city position and against McCabe in House District 93, said the matter is personal to her, as she has healthcare professionals in her family.
“The recent reports concerning the suspension of nurses are deeply troubling and deserve a fair and transparent review,” Longchamps said in a post last Sunday. “Our nurses deserve to feel supported, respected and safe speaking up about patient care. When nurses are supported and heard, they are better able to provide the safe, quality care every patient deserves. I stand with our nurses and encourage our community to support them.”
Janet Beaudoin, a Lewiston School Committee member who is running as the Republican nominee in Maine House District 94, said the suspension raises larger questions about priorities. “If our nurses were already understaffed and overworked, who is caring for patients right now?”
Shanna Cox, a Democrat running in Maine Senate District 21, said, “Nurses at CMMC are our friends, siblings, and neighbors, and deserve fair treatment and better staffing — so we can all be safer and better cared for.”
Luke Jensen, running for Maine House District 96, said the hospital’s quality of care has deteriorated since Prime Healthcare took ownership.
“Our nurses are leading the charge in demanding improvements,” Jensen said. “Despite retaliatory measures by the hospital administration, those nurses are staying strong and fighting for what is right. They deserve our respect, our thanks, and our admiration.”
Jensen’s opponent, Lee Clement, said his family is being served by many of the dedicated professionals as they receive care at CMMC.
“Lewiston was once the beneficiary of excellent healthcare, now corporate folks ‘from away’ who think they know better are doing their best to destroy that,” Clement said, adding that he supports CMMC nurses in their efforts to organize.
“So far, Prime Healthcare has started their union-busting activities,” he said. “This is not California; nor do we want to emulate California. It is the nurses’ legal right to organize and Prime is not making any friends with their efforts. Let’s hope they face consequences for their illegal activities. This is not a political issue, this is quality of life.”
This story was originally published by the Maine Trust for Local News. Joe Charpentier can be reached at jcharpentier@sunjournal.com.