LEWISTON — More than 100 people rallied Friday in support of Central Maine Medical Center nurses after the group voted overwhelmingly to unionize.

The win brings 290 nurses under labor union Maine State Nurses Association, where they plan to advocate for safer staffing, better equipment and nurse retention. It comes days after leadership fired 15 nurses and suspended five others, drawing wide criticism from Lewiston leaders, community members, Gov. Janet Mills and Maine congressional delegates.

The rally took place across the street from the hospital. Supporters, wearing red and holding signs, gathered in a half circle behind the podium where CMMC nurses, union leaders and Mayor Carl Sheline delivered speeches.

From quality of care issues to the recent firings and suspensions, many pointed fingers at CMMC’s new owner, Prime Healthcare Foundation, whose for-profit parent company, Prime, also fired six nurses this spring during a union campaign at a hospital in Illinois.

“I have three words for Prime Healthcare,” Sheline said at the opening of the rally. “Bring. Them. Back.”

A CMMC spokesperson said that the nurses were disciplined for violating hospital policies, not for participating in union activities.

They added in a statement Friday that there are “serious concerns” about the conduct leading up to the election.

“The hospital has received information concerning incidents of intimidation and harassment directed toward nurses, as well as communications that contained significant misrepresentations of fact,” the spokesperson said Friday. “The nature, timing and extent of this conduct raise legitimate concerns about whether all nurses were able to exercise their choice in an atmosphere free from improper pressure or interference.”

Katie Grinnell, a coronary care nurse who was fired by CMMC on Sept. 17 after about nine years on the job, spoke at the rally. She said she never gave up fighting for her patients.

“You can suspend us, you can fire us, but you will not put out our flame,” Grinnell said. “You can retaliate against us and continue to lie to our community, but we are smart, and we all see that your actions do not match your words.”

The crowd responded with cheers, pumped fists and cries of “bring them back.” A man in bright yellow standing in the back of the crowd did not lower his fist during the rally. He had the word “solidarity” tattooed on his forearm.

Nurse Jesse Buck still works in the intermediate cardiac care unit at the hospital. Like Grinnell, he has expressed public support for the union since the group filed for an election late last month.

He said reductions to staff and supplies have made it harder for nurses to routinely mobilize patients and reduce complications.

“We’re seeing a lot more skin issues, like pressure injuries, bed sores, at a rate that I’ve never seen in nursing, because they’ve short staffed us so much and reduced our physical supplies,” Buck said in an interview, “such that we can’t effectively keep our patients mobilized in a way that helps to prevent those.”

He said patients are increasingly apologizing for asking him for basic things, like a cup of water or help getting to the bathroom.

“They know that they’re coming into a lower quality place than it used to be,” he said.

A CMMC spokesperson has told the Sun Journal that Prime Healthcare Foundation has invested millions in workforce recruitment and retention in Central Maine Healthcare — which also includes hospitals in Bridgton and Rumford and a number of physician practices — while navigating financial struggles inherited from the previous ownership.

All of the speakers emphasized how important CMMC is to the city. The Rev. Sarah Gillespie of Lewiston said she loves the hospital as her neighbor. Nurse Ruth Fitzgerald said every patient is somebody’s child.

“We too are the patients,” Grinnell said.

After voting closed at the hospital Thursday at 8:30 p.m., election officials counted the paper ballots while nurses looked on. The final tally, 204-21, did not include the 20 nurses who were discharged. The election result will go to the National Labor Relations Board to be certified, which union organizers say will likely happen a week from now.

The MSNA filed multiple charges with the board against CMMC this month, accusing the hospital of discharging and disciplining nurses for participating in union activity in violation of the National Labor Relations Act. It could be the beginning of a long fight to reinstate the nurses.

The hospital is “evaluating the appropriate legal process” to address concerns around the election, a spokesperson said.

While union leaders said reinstatement of the 20 nurses is the top priority, the next goal is to win a union contract with strong protections against discipline and discharge.

When the rally ended, nurses, union organizers and local leaders embraced. The man in yellow finally lowered his fist. Passing cars let out their last honks.

But the group didn’t leave in any hurry.

“This may be a major, major milestone, but this is not the end,” Grinnell said in an interview Thursday evening. “This is the beginning. So for right now, we celebrate our win, and then we move on to the next steps.”