Nurses at Lewiston’s Central Maine Medical Center move to unionize for a greater voice in hospital conditions
LEWISTON — Nurses at Central Maine Medical Center are seeking to unionize, filing a petition Monday with federal labor officials in a move they say will improve patient care and working conditions at the Lewiston hospital.
The nurses submitted their election filing to the National Labor Relations Board, the first public step toward joining the Maine State Nurses Association. The union, affiliated with the National Nurses United, represents more than 4,000 nurses and caregivers statewide.
Christina Beckwith, a registered nurse on the vascular access team at CMMC, said the effort is fundamentally about patient safety.
"We are at the bedside, and we know what our patients need," Beckwith said in a written statement. "We want safe care for our patients. For patient care to improve, our working conditions need to improve, too."
The organizing campaign comes amid significant change at the hospital. Earlier this year, Prime Healthcare Foundation, a California-based nonprofit that operates hospitals across multiple states, acquired Central Maine Healthcare, the parent company of the Lewiston facility and other hospitals in western Maine.
Nurses involved in the effort say the timing reflects concerns about what the transition could mean for frontline staff. More than 40 nurses and union supporters gathered across the street from the hospital Monday evening, wearing red shirts and carrying signs reading "Prime RNs united for our patients."
"Unionizing gives us the power to make demands and negotiate a contract that will hold Prime accountable," Beckwith said.
The hospital pushed back on the characterization, arguing that the union is taking advantage of a vulnerable period. In a statement released Thursday, Central Maine Healthcare officials said Prime has provided critical support to help the system recover from years of financial struggles.
"Rather than allowing the turnaround to take hold, the union is attempting to take advantage of this critical transition period at an organization that has only recently been rescued from years of financial instability and is now receiving unprecedented investment," the statement read.
The officials added that they are actively addressing concerns and believe the union's efforts prioritize its own interests over those of patients and staff.
The labor petition must now go through an NLRB review process, which typically takes several weeks to a couple of months before any election can proceed.
The CMMC filing is not an isolated case. Nurses at two Prime facilities in Illinois also filed for union elections Monday. The actions follow months of escalating tension at Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago, where nurses voted in June to join National Nurses United. According to the union, the hospital subsequently fired six nurses, prompting a one-day strike. Hospital representatives have denied any retaliation took place.
Four additional one-day strikes are scheduled for Sept. 3 at Prime-owned facilities in California, Illinois, and Nevada, covering more than 2,200 nurses and healthcare workers.
Beckwith said she sees the local effort as part of a broader movement.
"I'm proud to join the labor movement in Maine and stand with Prime nurses across the country," she said. "Unionizing gives us the power to make demands and negotiate a contract that will hold Prime accountable."
