Union in Brief – June 212

June 2012

SCNSC and MIDWIVES Negotiations continue —

Economic issues are expected to take center stage when both groups return to the table in May and June in efforts to negotiate a first contract.

Reminder: AFSCME Convention —

The International AFSCME Convention will be June 18-22, 2012 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  This is an opportunity to see what our international union will do for the next two years.  Anyone may attend the convention as an observer.

Potential License Denial or Suspension for Failure to Pay Taxes —

Effective July 1, 2012, the Board of Registered Nursing is required to deny an application for licensure and to suspend the license/certificate/
registration of any applicant or licensee who has outstanding tax obligations due to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) or the State Board of Equalization (BOE) and appears on either the FTB or BOE’s certified lists of top 500 tax delinquencies over $100,000. (AB 1424, Perea, Chapter 455, Statutes of 2011)

Victory! FVPA Wins Arbitration —

In January 2011, Fountain Valley Professional Association filed a grievance against Fountain Valley Regional Medical Center on behalf of 23 RNs who were involuntarily and without notice stripped of their Clinician II status, resulting in a 5% reduction in pay.  The grievance process led to arbitration which FVPA won on May 3, 2012.  The arbitrator ruled FVRMC violated the collective bargaining agreement, and ordered FVRMC to retroactively pay the
effected RNs the 5% they lost in 2011 because of the contract violation.

Court rules Chino Valley Medical Center Must Negotiate With Nurses —

Bargaining will begin in June for the Chino RNs after the United States Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. ruled that Chino Valley Medical Center must negotiate with Chino RNs for a first contract covering wages, hours and working conditions.

The nurses at CVMC voted to join the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals in April 2010.  With this decision the court reaffirmed that choice, which can no longer be challenged by CVMC.

This is not the first legal victory for Chino RNs.  In October, 2011 an administrative law judge found that CVMC had engaged in “egregious widespread misconduct” including threats, intimidation and retaliatory discipline against its own nurses for organizing their union.

CVMC is owned by Prime Healthcare, Inc., which has also come under scrutiny by federal and state government agencies for its billing and other suspect practices.