The beleaguered 26 nurses and one physical therapist who were sued by their employer after they accused it of violating their employment contract received a much needed [boost] as two major U.S. nurses’ associations expressed support for the plight.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) and the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) on June 4 condemned the exploitation of registered immigrant nurses by unscrupulous U.S. employers and called for better enforcement of immigration laws.

They cited the case of the 26 registered nurses and one physical therapist from the Philippines who say they were brought to New York under false pretenses and denied the rights guaranteed by their employment contracts.

When the nurses resigned, they were sued by their former employer and accused of professional misconduct.

On March 22, 10 of the nurses were indicted in Suffolk County Supreme Court on charges of endangering their patients. Remarkably, the nurses’ employment attorney was also indicted for conspiracy; they all plead not guilty.

The nurses had been hired through a recruitment agency to work at specific nursing home facilities in Long Island. When they arrived in the United States, they discovered they actually were working for another agency. Over a period of months, the nurses said, the agency refused to pay them according to the terms of their contracts. They also said they were not properly trained for their new jobs and were required to care for more patients than they believed was safe.

“This case may be just the tip of the iceberg. Nurses who come to the United States deserve to have their rights protected,” said Tina Gerardi, RN, interim chief executive office of NYSNA. “Instead, these nurses were placed in the untenable position of being captive to an employer under conditions that did not allow them to provide safe patient care.”

Gerardi said NYSNA became aware of the nurses’ situation in May 2006 and assisted them in getting a hearing before the State Board for Nursing after the recruitment agency accused them of professional misconduct.

“They couldn’t get work because the issuance of their licenses was on hold pending investigation of an allegation of patient abandonment,” Gerardi said. “Those charges were dismissed by the State Board. We are greatly concerned that these RNs are now being prosecuted for the same actions.”

“The real patient endangerment lies in the deplorable conditions that led the nurses to leave. After exhausting all possibilities to resolve their concerns with the facility and the agency, [they gained the] community’s full support because they refused to remain in a situation where patients were being denied the kind of care and staffing they deserved,” said ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, Registered Nurse, (RN) Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN), Certified Nurse in the Operating Room (CNOR).

The nurses’ plight has become a cause célèbre in both the Philippines and the New York City Filipino community.

The nurses, now known in the community as Sentosa 27 ++, participated in the New York Philippine Independence Day parade on June 3, and brought their issue to the Filipino American and nursing communities.

The nurses marched down Madison Avenue in a colorful, hundreds-strong contingent of Filipino families that was received by loud applause from parade watchers along the sidewalks.

The health workers, along with the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) launched a national week of action in pursuit of their demands on June 3 in New York City, during the Philippine Independence Day Celebration (PIDC).

Solidarity events for the Sentosa nurses are also set to take place in San Francisco, Chicago, and elsewhere.

“We are here to support our nurses, to call attention to the reality of their abuse and victimization, and to demand justice and protection from companies such as the Sentosa Recruitment Agency,” stated Rico Foz, executive vice president of NAFCON.

Supporting organizations that marched with the nurses include the Philippine Forum, Anakbayan Filipino Youth Collective, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FIRE), Lakas Diwa Filipino Community Alliance of New Jersey, Movement for a Free Philippines, NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Migrante International, New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), and the American Nurses Association (ANA).

The contingent was also marked by the presence of two giant papiér machés – one, a Filipina nurse, and the other a personification of Inang Bayan (the Motherland).

Various social concerns projected by the NAFCON contingent included a call for the legalization of all undocumented Filipino immigrants, a call to continue with a second investigation for Filipino domestic worker Felisa “Fely” Garcia, and even Philippine-based social concerns such as “No to Election Fraud and Violence” and “Stop the Political Killings."