Nurse contends that union rule disenfranchising nonmembers is unlawful restraint on Section 7 right to refuse union membership protected by federal law

Baltimore, MD (September 22, 2026) – Jennifer Delaney, a nurse at Ascension Health’s St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, has filed federal charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) challenging a common union boss tactic designed to coerce employees into signing union membership and dues cards. The charges were filed with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

Delaney’s charges argue that when union officials block nonmembers from voting on contracts that will apply to them, the union violates the National Labor Relations Act’s (NLRA’s) prohibition on unions restraining or coercing employees’ Section 7 right to refrain from union membership. Though the NLRB has long looked the other way when union officials engage in such discrimination during contract ratification votes, the charges argue that the Board can no longer brush aside this clear violation of the text of the NLRA in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.

The charges were filed after National Nurses Organizing Committee-National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) officials prevented Delaney and other nonmember nurses from participating in a vote on September 17 over whether to ratify a monopoly union contract that would apply to both member and nonmember nurses alike. Delaney, with the assistance of her National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, filed similar charges in April 2025 when union officials disenfranchised nonmembers from voting on a “partial deal” regarding a contract proposal. Those charges remain pending.

Because Maryland lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector workers, NNOC/NNU officials are empowered to enforce union contracts on all of the approximately 600 nurses at St. Agnes that could require every nurse to make payments to the union or else be fired. Although this particular contract does not include a forced dues provision, union officials were nevertheless blocking nonmembers from voting on the monopoly bargaining contract unless they joined the union and authorized automatic dues deductions.

Nurse’s Challenge Follows Previous Discrimination Charge, Attempt to Vote Union Out

Ever since NNOC/NNU union officials gained power at the hospital, they have been a divisive force, with many nurses opposing the union. In January 2025, around 200 nurses voted to remove the union in a decertification election, but the union was narrowly able to maintain power despite less than half of eligible voters (244 out of 573) backing the union.

Delaney explains why so many nurses wanted nothing to do with NNOC/NNU: “This union proved itself to be a divisive force as soon as it began campaigning at our hospital. Many of the nurses opposed its agenda from the very beginning, and it is still making things difficult for both us and our patients. Little has changed since the union got in and now we are being denied a say over our own contract terms.”

Both the latest charge and the pending charge filed in April 2025 are being investigated by NLRB Region 5 officials based in Baltimore.

“The whole point of Section 7 is that workers get to decide for themselves whether or not to join a union, free of pressure from union officials,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “For too long, union bosses have weaponized their monopoly bargaining power over all employees in a workplace, effectively imposing a poll tax on workers by conditioning voting eligibility on union membership and dues payment.

“If NNOC/NNU bosses are unwilling to let nonmember nurses vote, then they are free to renounce their power to impose their one-size-fits-all contract on nonmembers,” added Mix. “Until that happens, it is vital the NLRB enforce the clear letter of federal law and protect these nurses from union policies designed to coerce them into signing away their legal rights.”

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.