SEATTLE, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), representing more than 600 registered nurses at Virginia Mason Medical Center (VMMC), filed a petition in Federal Court today seeking an injunction to stop the implementation of the Hospital's policy requiring mandatory flu vaccination for all RNs. This unilaterally implemented policy violates the terms and the very purpose of the collective bargaining agreement between WSNA and VMMC.
WSNA does not oppose the flu vaccination and in fact strongly encourages people (including nurses) to get them. However, we do oppose any health care facility threatening to fire people if they do not submit to the mandatory vaccination, especially in the absence of a declared public health emergency and a recommendation for mandatory vaccination by the CDC.
"We believe that the receipt of a flu vaccination should be an individual choice and that education -- not brute force -- is the best way to encourage nurses to comply. Since the Hospital is unwilling to negotiate with WSNA on the policy, we are left with no choice but to seek an injunction from a Federal Court," said Barbara Frye, RN, Director of Labor Relations at WSNA.
"The registered nurses at VMMC will not tolerate an employer who threatens to fire nurses who do not comply with their mandatory flu policy. We are asking the Court to intervene on the nurses' behalf in order to stop the implementation of this policy pending an arbitration between the Hospital and WSNA to negotiate this important issue," said LauraLee Mayorkinos, RN, WSNA Local Unit Chair at VMMC.
Founded in 1908, WSNA is a constituent of the American Nurses Association/United American Nurses and is recognized by the National Labor Relations Board as a collective bargaining agent. WSNA represents and promotes the professional development of more than 12,000 nurses in Washington state and their economic and general welfare by projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by informing the Legislature and regulatory agencies of health care issues affecting registered nurses and the citizens of Washington state.
Washington State Nurses AssociationCONTACT: Anne Tan Piazza of WSNA, +1-206-575-7979, ext. 3006, or cell,+1-206-459-6409, or fax, +1-206-575-1908
Web site: http://www.wsna.org/
