LV nurses threaten one-day protest strike

Michelle Swafford

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 | 10:54 a.m.

The union representing 900 nurses at Valley and Desert Springs hospitals in Las Vegas warned Tuesday they may go on strike for one day in July to send a message to the hospitals.

Universal Health Services Inc., owner of the hospitals, was notified the nurses will strike one day, July 12 beginning at 6 a.m., if they don't have a contract by then.

Since late February, the Service Employees International Union Local 1107 has been negotiating for better pay, a pension plan instead of a 401(k), more sick time and fully paid health care, which nurses say will improve working conditions and patient care.

King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health and the SEIU will continue to negotiate between now and July 12. If the two parties cannot agree on a contract by July 12, the nurses will go on strike for one day to show they are united and serious about better working conditions, said Jane McAlevey, executive director of the SEIU Local 1107 and chief negotiator for the nurses at both hospitals.

"We don't think the hospital has presented a fair contract yet," McAlevey said. "No nurses want to strike. They think the conditions are so bad that the only way to improve health care is a strike. It will be the first (nurses') strike in the history of Vegas."

Mike Tymczyn, spokesman for Desert Springs, Valley and sister hospitals Summerlin and Spring Valley, said the hospitals will continue to talk with union officials and the nurses to resolve the conflicts.

"We are disappointed and upset about this, but we're not going to give up," Tymczyn said. "They are our employees and our family. We want to make this right for both parties. We are dedicated to take whatever time and effort is necessary to avoid not only the July 12 action, but we're looking three to five to 10 years into the future."

Health care workers are required as part of the National Labor Relations Act to give a 10-day notice that they intend to go on strike so that arrangements can be made to take care of patients, said Mike Chavez, resident officer of the National Labor Relations Board's Las Vegas office.

In some cases, companies in other industries provide notice that they intend to strike because it is in their bargaining agreements, Chavez said.

McAlevey said nurses want pension plans instead of 401(k) plans, but the nurses are willing to accept better 401(k) plans. The current proposal asks Universal Health for a 100 percent employer match on the first 8 percent of the nurses' 401(k) contributions, up from a 50 percent employer match on the first 6 percent of nurses' contributions.

McAlevey said the nurses also want more paid sick time because they are around sick patients in their careers and they want fully funded health care instead of the employer paying only a portion of premiums.

"Most workers in the city who are inside unions have fully paid health care," McAlevey said.

The nurses are asking for more than a 34 percent pay increase in some cases, which would surpass the SEIU-negotiated contract that Sunrise Hospital nurses agreed to last August.

McAlevey said the cost of living has "changed enormously" since the Sunrise contract, but declined to give specifics on how much the Valley and Desert Springs nurses earn.

Tymczyn said the contract terms that the hospitals have presented are "not only right there with the rest of the city, but are right there with the rest of the country."

He said the hospitals are increasing wages and benefits to improve working conditions that will retain and recruit nurses, but "it is enhancement not to the level of the union's liking."

He declined to comment on the details of the disagreement, saying that the hospitals did not spend three months negotiating to now air their differences in the public or the media.

Tymczyn said it is "unclear how Desert Springs and Valley are going to proceed if there is a strike."

"We don't have plans in place yet to take care of patients," he said. "We are dedicated to quality patient care. There are companies out there that do offer replacement workers. Desert Springs and Valley would be prepared to temporarily staff up."

Tymczyn said the hospital employees and the public will receive additional information about how the hospitals will proceed between now and July 12.

Universal Health's other two Las Vegas Valley hospitals, Summerlin and Spring Valley, are not unionized. The SEIU also represents nurses at Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Inc.'s Sunrise Hospital and Clark County-owned University Medical Center. The union is attempting to unionize the nurses at St. Rose Dominican Hospitals, which are owned by San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West.