A group of nurses at the GW Hospital are seeking to disaffiliate from the union that has represented them for over two years, per a decertification petition filed last month with the National Labor Relations Board.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on advocating for right-to-work laws, is providing legal representation to a group of nurses at GW Hospital as they seek to remove the District of Columbia Nurses Association as their bargaining representative of nearly 700 nurses who work at the facility. NRTW lawyers, who provide pro bono legal assistance for workers seeking to disaffiliate from their union, affirmed in their filing obtained by The Hatchet that at least 30 percent of the affected union nurses — the threshold necessary to hold an election — wanted to remove DCNA as their bargaining representation.

If the decertification petition withstands legal challenges, all GW Hospital nurses will vote this month on whether to remove DCNA as their union representation, and until nurses reach a decision on whether DCNA will remain, nurses will continue bargaining for compensation benefits, including increased wages, leave and 401(k) contributions, among other items, according to the NLRB.

Elizabeth Abraha, the nurse leading the decertification effort, said in a press release the union hasn’t been able to deliver what they promised the nurses.

“Two years ago, DCNA union officials made all kinds of promises to my coworkers and me. They have not only failed to deliver on them, but have driven a wedge between a lot of my coworkers,” Abraha said in the press release. “We want to exercise our right to vote this union out, and both DCNA union officials and GWU Hospital management should respect our free choice.”

Abraha and other nurses in favor of the decertification did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

A GW Hospital spokesperson said employees initiated and drove the decertification process, and the process is designed to ensure employees can make a free and informed choice regarding union representation through a confidential, government-administered election.

“We remain focused on our core priorities, which include delivery of excellent patient care, supporting our nurses and staff and maintaining a stable and respectful work environment,” the GW Hospital spokesperson said in an email.

DCNA filed an initial blocking charge petition April 17 seeking to block processing of the decertification petition, stating that the unresolved unfair labor practice charges the union has filed against UHS prevents the decertification from moving forward.

DCNA has filed at least nine unfair labor practice charges against UHS, alleging the company fired a nurse for participating in union activity and installed surveillance cameras in break and meeting rooms after nurses announced plans to unionize.

GW Hospital nurses originally voted to unionize in July 2023, but the hospital failed to recognize the union until the NLRB required them to begin bargaining with the union in a December 2024 settlement. The hospital and union began bargaining in March 2025, but Ed Smith, the executive director of the DCNA, said United Health Services, the hospital’s owner and operator, had limited bargaining sessions to only two per month, which he said elongated the process.

The nurses having union representation has meant hospital leadership couldn’t change working conditions without consulting those representatives and reaching an agreement. 

Smith said UHS was “notoriously anti-union,” which he said contributed to the delay between when nurses voted to unionize and when the collective bargaining process actually began.

As of February, the negotiating parties had addressed just 10 or 11 of roughly 30 contract articles — leaving high-priority issues like compensation unresolved.

“We’ve made some progress, but not enough,” Smith said. “The hospital has refused to provide us proposals on wages and other benefits. We proposed a full package of wages and benefits proposals, and they have sat on them and not given us a counter proposal.”

Elizabeth Deal, a GW Hospital nurse who wants the union to remain in place, said some nurses do not fully understand or are misinformed about how unions operate and the rights nurses have is a large issue in the hospital. She said because the union isn’t allowed to discuss union issues in patient care areas, they are struggling to get information out to nurses about union efforts. However, Deal also said the union has received reports that UHS has allowed nurses in support of decertification to openly discuss it while on shift and to pull other nurses into meetings to discuss it. 

Deal said UHS is withholding multiple proposals for compensation, attendance, staffing and benefits for nurses and more. She said UHS is employing “every classic” union-busting strategy they can, such as delaying negotiations and saying they can’t provide raises during bargaining, which Deal says is not true. 

“They spread this misinformation that they can’t give nurses raises, or they can’t create new positions during bargaining,” Deal said. “But that’s not true. They can. They’re choosing not to, and then they extend bargaining and drag it out so people get frustrated and blame the union.” 

She said the working conditions put forth by UHS are why burnout, moral fatigue and compassion fatigue are so high at GW Hospital. Deal said she has seen how UHS operated at different hospitals and said they put profits over patients “every chance” they get. She also said that in a bargaining meeting, UHS officials said they “don’t need” nurse input, even though they are the largest group of healthcare professionals at GW Hospital.

Glenn Taubman, an NRTW lawyer who serves as the legal representative for the nurses seeking disaffiliation, said he has “no knowledge” of the nurses wanting a different union to represent them, and they are solely focused on disaffiliating from DCNA.

Taubman said as of now, the NLRB regional director hasn’t determined whether the election is going to go forward or not, Taubman said the NLRB will determine whether the election should go forward or whether it should be blocked by mere allegations of unfair labor practices.

“The last thing unions want is to allow people to vote,” he said. “So they’re trying to block and delay any election from happening.” 

Taubman said an advantage of the union’s removal is that the nurses aren’t compelled to pay dues or be fired when they don’t pay. He said because D.C. is not a right-to-work state, or a state with laws prohibiting unions or employers from forcing employees to join a union and pay union dues as a condition of employment, they can legally get a contract that says people pay or get fired, which is usually something that nurses “don’t appreciate.”