Jul 4, 2009 5:16 pm US/Central
A Union Battle Brewing on Hospital Grounds
One woman speaks out on what she thinks is retaliation after she spoke at a union rally
OAK PARK, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Laura Buenrostro speaks at union rally.
CBS
It's a fight that's been going on for six years. The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is trying to set up shop in Chicagoland's second largest hospital chain.
But the hospital says the union it trying to foist itself on unwilling employees. CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports on the story of one woman who believes she's the latest casualty in this protracted battle.
Laura Buenrostro found herself in an ad last week in two local papers. But it wasn't to sell clothes – it was to sell the idea that her workplace is anti-union.
Her employer is Resurrection Healthcare, the Catholic not-for-profit operator of eight Chicago area hospitals.
"It's just been slowly increasing, what I would consider harassment," said nurse Buenrostro.
Buenrostro says the harassment started when she started trying to organize a union at Oak Park based West Suburban Hospital.
She says that caused her to get written up and to receive her first negative performance evaluation. Then she says she made a fateful decision to speak at a union rally.
"If you can't stand up for what you believe in, then I don't know what kind of country we live in," Buenrostro said.
It was two weeks ago when Laura says she walked down the steps of a church just north of the hospital and addressed about 500 supporters. Two days after that she says she learned the consequences of speaking out.
"I spoke at the rally and then two days later, I went in and they said my position was eliminated," Buenrostro said. "
She said she "absolutely" thinks that move was related to her talking at the rally.
AFSCME Local 31 felt so strongly about what they call the swift injustice of Buenrostro's case that they bankrolled ads urging people to call the hospital's CEO.
"It's certainly clear to me that they're taking steps to retaliate against her because she has been trying to organize," said Jo Patton, AFSCME special projects director. "It's illegal to prevent people from trying to organize a union."
But the CEO of West Suburban Hospital says she wasn't aware that Buenrostro had spoken at the rally until she read about it in the paper. She said Buenrostro is simply being transferred to another hospital and that the decision had been made weeks before the rally was even held. She also said the decision to eliminate Buenrostro's position in Oak Park was based on seniority and other factors.
"Despite the fact that people are being laid off across the country we found a position for her elsewhere. I think she's lucky," said West Suburban CEO Pat Shehorn.
But Buenrostro isn't buying it.
"I mean how could it be a coincidence that I speak at the rally and two days later my position is eliminated? I mean that doesn't make any sense," Buenrostro said.
Shehorn says Resurrection is not anti-union and that if employees hold a vote and decide to unionize the hospital will support that. AFSCME says many workers want to unionize, but they fear that they will be targets of retaliation.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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