National Nurses United, the California-based union aiming to represent nurses at CommonSpirit Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, issued a statement Friday after filing a petition for a union election this week.
“Because CommonSpirit prioritizes money over patients, registered nurses want to form and work together as a union to improve standards and working conditions for their patients and themselves so that they can give the best care possible to their entire community,” the union said in a statement to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
The union set a preferred date of Oct. 22 for a secret-ballot election at the hospital. If a majority of nurses who participate in the election vote to be represented by National Nurses United, the hospital must bargain over working conditions.
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The union wants the election to take place over three time slots in the community room on the first floor of the hospital at 2525 Desales Ave., according to its petition to the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday.