Union in Brief – Sept/Oct’10 Voice

September 2010

NLRB Dismisses Charges – In a recent ruling, UNAC/UHCP was cleared of any misconduct during the Chino Valley organizing campaign that preceded the Registered Nurses vote to unionize in April. Following the election victory the hospital, owned by Prime Healthcare Services, filed 29 objections with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleging UNAC/UHCP election misconduct. On July 7, an Administrative Law Judge from the NLRB overruled all the hospital’s objections, clearing the way for us to be certified as the nurses’ representative. In mid-August the hospital filed exceptions to the judge’s ruling with the NLRB in Washington, D.C. The NLRB has not yet ruled on the hospital’s exceptions filing.

Garden Grove Nurses Win Arbitration, Begin Negotiations – A neutral arbitrator in mid-July found that Prime Healthcare Services violated the Garden Grove Registered Nurses’ contract when it unilaterally eliminated the nurses’ Reserve Sick Leave Program in April 2009. Specifically, the arbitrator ordered Prime to reinstate the Reserve Sick Leave back to the date when Prime had stopped accruals and make whole all nurses who were forced to take unpaid sick leave because Reserve Sick accruals had been eliminated. The Garden Grove nurses began negotiations for a new contract with Prime in late August. It is the first time the nurses have bargained with Prime as the hospital’s owner. The current contract expires September 30.

Bear Valley Negotiations – As this edition of The Voice went to print, the Bear Valley negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement were not completed. After seven bargaining sessions, negotiations stalled in late July, and the assistance of a State mediator was enlisted. The current contract expired on June 30.

Kaiser South Bay UBT Celebration – Kaiser South Bay UNAC/UHCP members and other employees applauded accomplishments in quality, service, and making Kaiser Permanente the best place to work during its second annual unit-based team (UBT) fair on August 2. More than 300 employees met with representatives of 17 UBTs to discuss the teams’ activities and accomplishments that became best practices.

AFSCME Scholarship – AFSCME is currently accepting applications for the 2011 Family Scholarship Program. Ten scholarships of $2,000 each will be awarded annually and renewed each year for a maximum of four years, and may be used for any field of study. Applications must be postmarked by December 31, 2010.

For detailed information on the application process and to download an application, please visit afscme.org/family

If you have problems downloading the application or have questions regarding the application process, please contact Susan Welsh at (202) 429-1079 or swelsh@afscme.org