1199SEIU members at Golden Living Center (GLC) in Lexington, MA won a victory for free speech in the workplace recently when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that nursing home management could not prevent them from wearing union stickers at work.

Union members had been engaging in a sticker campaign during contract negotiations. The stickers read, “Givebacks Make Me SICK” and members at GLC Lexington proudly wore the stickers while at work. Members of management pulled aside union members wearing the stickers and told them to remove the stickers.

Union members decided to file an Unfair Labor Practice complaint with the NLRB and won!

“When we started wearing the stickers, the director of nursing and other managers told us we were not to wear them,” said Lermond Metellus, a CNA at GLC Lexington. “Then the administrator called me to say the union had filed a case with the NLRB and now we can wear the stickers…This makes us stronger!”

Elsie Clairzie, also a CNA at the home, was excited about the decision protecing her rights and the rights of her co-workers: “It’s good that we got them to say we can wear the stickers.”

In response to the NLRB ruling, management at GLC Lexington sent out a notice to all employees rescinding their prior stance on the stickers. It read in part: “Based on an initial review of certain union stickers related to ‘cut backs,’ employees may have been initially limited in wearing their union buttons. It was ultimately determined that no limitations were required.”

- See more at: http://www.1199seiu.org/entry_title_here_for_massachusetts_division_2#sthash.FYCVHf5E.dpuf