Less than a week after nurses won their first union negotiated contract with Kent Hospital, an emergency department nurse and union representative is mounting an effort to de-authorize the union, thereby giving the hospital’s 670 nurses the right to decide whether they want to pay dues or not.

Jeanette Geary said Tuesday that she has been in contact with the National Right to Work Foundation and aims to circulate a petition, the first step to a de-authorization vote as soon as she educates nurses on their rights and the action they can take.

Prompting Geary’s actions are what she considers a lack of information distributed by the union, the manner in which the contract vote was conducted and union misinformation.

She’s not alone.

Meg Webb, an intensive care unit nurse who never supported the union, said she was “shocked” that the union insists it sent contract copies to the members. Webb said she received a notice of meetings where the vote was taken, but not the contract. She is also critical that the union failed to support its representatives and is of the opinion the union “doesn’t care about the patients.”

Other nurses contacted for this story, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the contract fails to address key issues such as staffing and equitable “call-pay” and that the pay raises won are no better than what the hospital gave them last year.

“I don’t believe that the union got us anything extra,” one nurse said.

The agreement between United Nurses & Allied Professionals Local 5008 gives step 9 nurses what amounts to an 8 percent pay raise over two years. Nurses also are to co-pay 6 percent of their health care premiums in the first year that is increased to 8 percent in the second year.

The hospital estimated the added cost of the contract at about $2.5 million.

Nurses voted last October for representation by the UNAP and the agreement was reached after a series of meetings culminating with a negotiating session that lasted more than 24 hours on July 2. A vote on the contract was held July 15 at a series of four union meetings at the Crowne Plaza.

The vote approving the contract was 172 to 149.

Geary started asking questions after learning that union representatives had sole possession of the ballot box and that there was no oversight from an impartial party. She says she was denied a vote when she appeared at the Crowne Plaza at 10:15 a.m. on July 15 and that contrary to union claims, copies of the contract were not mailed to members prior to the vote.

UNAP field representative Jack Callaci says he has no issue with what members may think of the agreement, “they’re entitled to their opinions.”

But Callaci, who was not aware of an effort to de-authorize the union, maintains that the contract was mailed to members. He also defends the absence of the ballot box when Geary showed up to vote.

“I give no credence to her issues whatsoever,” he said, “the factual stuff just isn’t fair.”

He said union members were informed of the four meetings on the day of the vote and that during periods between meetings he took the locked ballot box with him.

When a petition requesting a de-authorization vote will be circulated is not known, but Geary says, “I’m definitely going forward with it.”

Geary said she took her issues to the National Labor Relations Board, but was told it was a matter between her and the union. She then contacted the National Right to Work Foundation, learning the difference between union de-certification and de-authorization.

In order for nurses to de-certify the union, meaning it would no longer be their bargaining agent, a vote would need to be taken prior to acceptance of a contract by both parties. That could not happen until two years for now at the earliest.

Geary doesn’t want to wait, although she says she has been warned by some of her colleagues if she is to push the matter she could see her car damaged.

Geary said she is seeking assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation to de-authorize the union.

“We haven’t filed anything formal for her,” Patrick Semmens, legislative information director for the foundation said Tuesday.

He explained that since Rhode Island is one of 28 states that do not have right to work legislation, workers are required to pay union dues in situations where they are represented by a union. In fact, he said, the union in some instances can force an employer to terminate an employee should they not pay dues.

In order to de-authorize, Semmens said 30 percent of the nurses would need to petition the NLRB for a vote. For the de-authorization to occur 50 percent of the nurses would have to vote for de-authorization.

“We don’t think any employee should be forced to pay dues to keep a job,” Semmens says. He said the foundation provides legal services at no cost and has gone as far as the Supreme Court in providing representation.

Geary believes the UNAP would lose interest in representing Kent nurses if nurses had the choice between paying and not paying dues. Dues average about $500 a year.

Semmens argues that unions are more responsive to employees when employees can make the choice of paying dues.