Nurses Celebrate Union Victory at Central Maine Medical Center Rally

Lewiston Nurses Celebrate Union Victory Amid Controversy

Registered nurses at Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC) in Lewiston, Maine, together with community supporters, held a rally today to mark their decisive win in a union election. This victory was confirmed by the Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, an entity affiliated with National Nurses United, the largest registered nurse union in the U.S.

Leading up to the election, CMMC and its owner, Prime Healthcare, faced criticism for dismissing 15 union supporters and suspending five nurses who advocated for patient rights. These actions sparked significant backlash among the nursing staff.

Fired CMMC nurse Katie Grinnell, RN, expressed her resolve, stating, “You take on one of us, you take on all of us. Prime and CMMC made a bet that we’d scatter to the wind when they started firing nurses for our patient advocacy. But last night, they lost that bet.” Grinnell further commented, “Their cruelty toward us just made us stronger. We are more determined than ever to win improvements to the lives of nurses and patients at our hospital. Prime should not profit off the backs of us nurses, at the expense of our patients.”

Prime Healthcare's acquisition of CMMC earlier this year has been met with challenges from the nursing staff, including reports of increased patient loads, insufficient patient care supplies, and unilateral reductions in nurses’ pay and benefits. The unionization means that Prime and CMMC will now engage in negotiations regarding employment terms and conditions. The nurses' decision to unionize was driven by their desire for a meaningful role in hospital decisions impacting patient care.

Jesse Buck, RN, a nurse in the cardiac intermediate care unit, shared the community’s support, saying, “We feel the love and support of our community. We are so grateful to all of our neighbors and friends who have reached out to let us know they’re pulling for us. And we appreciate so much all of the elected officials and candidates who have publicly stood with us so far. With this incredible election victory, we can now begin to rebuild our hospital for the benefit of everyone.”

The newly unionized nurses at CMMC are now set to negotiate their first union contract.

Maine State Nurses Association, part of the National Nurses Organizing Committee, represents 4,000 nurses and other caregivers from Portland to Fort Kent. The NNOC is affiliated with National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing labor union of registered nurses in the United States, boasting over 225,000 members nationwide.

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