The GW Hatchet
Sep 3rd, 2026
GW Hospital withdraws recognition of nurses' union amid decertification dispute.
By Lakshmi Dev, Assistant News Editor
September 3, 2026
A member wears a District of Columbia Nurses Association shirt during a union picket outside GW Hospital in 2025.
GW Hospital has withdrawn recognition of the District of Columbia Nurses Association as the union representative of its registered nurses, over three years after the hospital's nurses first voted to unionize.
The withdrawal marks the latest development in a labor dispute between GW Hospital nurses, DCNA and Universal Health Services - the private health care company that owns and operates GW Hospital - including an April decertification petition filed with the National Labor Relations Board by a faction of nurses seeking to remove DCNA as their bargaining representative. Teri Capshaw, the director of marketing at GW Hospital, said hospital leadership received "objective evidence" from the hospital's nurses indicating that the union had lost support of the majority of nurses in the bargaining unit, and the hospital acceded to the nurses' wishes in advised the union they were withdrawing recognition.
"The withdrawal of recognition will have no impact on the wages, benefits or working conditions of the nurses at GW Hospital," Capshaw said in a statement. "As it did prior to the union's representation, the hospital welcomes and practices an open and direct dialogue with our valued nurses on all issues regarding their employment and the excellent care they provide to our patients."
DCNA said in a joint statement with the GWUH Nurses Instagram account Wednesday that DCNA disputes the allegations that 50 percent of nurses no longer wish to be represented by DCNA. The statement says the union is aware managers have been breaking the law by approaching nurses on the clock and coercing signatures on forms indicating they no longer wish to be represented by the union.
"DCNA will continue to fight for patient safety and for nurses at GWUH," the statement reads. "We will take all legal and public action to challenge these unfair labor practices and assaults on patient care and workers' rights."
The hospital spokesperson denied DCNA's allegations that managers violated federal law by approaching nurses while they were working or in patient-care areas to solicit signatures.
"GW Hospital leadership complied with all legal requirements regarding communications with nurses in this matter," the spokesperson said. "Any allegations that hospital leadership failed to adhere to applicable legal requirements are expressly denied."
The union encouraged nurses who said they were coerced or confused into signing documents, or who wished to withdraw their signatures, to contact DCNA. They said responses from nurses would remain confidential as it prepares to challenge the hospital's decision.
"Our patients and staff deserve better," the statement reads.
The dispute over union representation follows months of contract negotiations between DCNA and GW Hospital that began after nurses started organizing with DCNA in February 2023, culminating in the hospital's nurses voting to unionize July 2023. Nurses voted 310-207 to form a union around concerns about staffing and working conditions, but GW Hospital and UHS challenged the election results and did not begin bargaining with DCNA until after a December 2024 settlement that required the hospital to begin bargaining and comply with union terms.
The dispute over DCNA's representation of GW Hospital nurses traces back to April, when a group of GW Hospital nurses filed a petition with the NLRB seeking to remove DCNA as their collective bargaining representative.
Elizabeth Abraha, a GW Hospital nurse, filed the petition on April 15, seeking to decertify the DCNA as the representative of nearly 700 registered nurses at GW Hospital. The decertification effort was supported by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which represented nurses seeking to hold an election on whether to remove the union.
Abraha argued the DCNA had failed to deliver the benefits nurses expected when they voted to unionize. Nurses supporting the petition said the union had created divisions among employees and sought the opportunity to vote on whether to continue their representation by the DCNA.
The DCNA filed a blocking charge petition on April 17, shortly after the decertification effort began, arguing that unresolved unfair labor practice charges against UHS should prevent the election from moving forward. The NLRB regional director later sided with DCNA and paused the election, prompting Abraha to ask the full labor board to reconsider the decision.
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.
The decertification effort emerged as the DCNA and hospital officials were negotiating the nurses' first collective bargaining agreement, which began in March 2025 after the December 2024 settlement requiring the hospital to begin bargaining. By February of this year, the parties had addressed only about 10 or 11 of roughly 30 proposed contract articles, leaving compensation and other major issues unresolved.
DCNA Executive Director Ed Smith said hospital management informed the union of the decision to withdraw their recognition during a bargaining session Wednesday morning, telling union officials it had evidence that a majority of nurses no longer wanted to be represented by DCNA, a claim he said the hospital did not provide supporting documentation for.
Smith said DCNA is investigating allegations that hospital managers and clinical supervisors approached nurses while they were working and in patient-care areas to collect signatures. He said the union plans to file additional unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB over the alleged conduct.
"Basically, federal law does not allow for an employer to campaign against the union during working hours or in patient areas, and we believe that it was pretty extensive," Smith said.
Smith said the decertification petition remains on hold while the NLRB investigates previously filed unfair labor practice charges that the union says could affect nurses' decisions about whether to support DCNA. He said those charges include allegations that three nurses were disciplined for distributing union literature while off duty and away from patient areas, as well as allegations that the hospital failed to provide wage increases or bonuses in 2025 and 2026.
"Management has unilaterally decided to no longer recognize the union and thus no longer sit at the bargaining table," Smith said.
Smith said the hospital has also told DCNA officials they can no longer enter the hospital to organize or educate nurses. He said DCNA and GW Hospital have held 34 bargaining sessions since negotiations began in March 2025, but the hospital did not present a wage proposal until August.
He said the union plans to seek reinstatement of its recognition through litigation and continue advocating for nurses while the dispute moves through the NLRB.
"And ultimately, we are going to continue to fight for them and fight for the patient's patients' rights and patient safety, and ultimately get a contract and move forward," Smith said.
Elizabeth Deal, a nurse at GW Hospital, said the decision to withdraw recognition for the union was disappointing but not unexpected given what she described as UHS' broader history of opposing unions, and comes as nurses continue to raise concerns about the company's conduct during contract negotiations.
"This decision is very disappointing but not unexpected given UHS' unabashed union busting history," Deal said in a text message.
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Universal Health Services sets three investor presentations.Universal Health Services sets three investor presentations.
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA - Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE: UHS) will present at three health care investor conferences in September, giving investors multiple opportunities to hear from the hospital and behavioral health operator over an eight-day period.
The King of Prussia-based company is scheduled to present at the Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference on Sept. 8 at 8:45 a.m. ET, followed by the Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare Conference on Sept. 14 at 8:30 a.m. ET.
UHS will make its third presentation at the Baird Global Healthcare Conference on Sept. 15 at 10:15 a.m. ET.
Live audio webcasts of the presentations and subsequent replays will be available through the investor relations section of the company's website at www.uhsinc.com.
UHS operates through subsidiaries across hospital and health care services, employing more than 102,000 people. Its network includes 30 inpatient acute-care facilities, more than 380 inpatient behavioral health facilities and approximately 170 outpatient and other facilities.
The company also operates nationwide virtual behavioral health services, an insurance offering and a physician network. Its physical operations extend across 40 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
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