Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2004 | 10:58 a.m.
Executives of St. Rose Dominican Hospitals and the Service Employees International Union Local 1107 reached an arrangement recently that compels them to work out their differences and allows the union to attempt to organize about 1,500 employees at the Siena and Rose de Lima campuses.
The parties have been holding joint meetings last week and this week with St. Rose hospitals' nurses, technicians and service employees to educate them on the union election process so employees could make an informed decision on whether to vote in favor of union representation.
Things have not always been amicable between the hospitals and the union. The SEIU postponed an election last November and filed charges with the Las Vegas office of the National Labor Relations Board that allege that the hospitals were interfering with the election and terminating some employees "in reprisal" for their activities on behalf of the SEIU.
A new election date has not been scheduled, but it will likely be before the end of the year, St. Rose Chief Executive Rod Davis said.
He said the meetings explain the process in a "calm and dispassionate environment."
Part of the reason the SEIU and St. Rose hospitals are working together is because of a relationship the SEIU has with the hospitals' parent company, San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West.
The SEIU said it has a four-year labor contract that began in June and covers about 14,000 Catholic Healthcare West employees in 28 California hospitals. Catholic Healthcare owns 42 hospitals including the two Henderson ones.
The SEIU and St. Rose sent out a joint letter to employees that informed them about the new relationship between the union and the hospitals and invited employees to attend the joint meetings.
The letter said; "CHW (Catholic Healthcare West) and the SEIU have come to a new understanding about how to implement a fair election agreement here in Las Vegas that guarantees that workers will be free to choose on their own whether or not to form a union."
Davis said both the union and hospitals want to move the election forward to determine whether employees want union representation.
"It's in the best interest of patient care to move forward collectively," he said. "We're not pro- or anti-union. We're pro-employees."
The arrangement between St. Rose and the SEIU enables the union to have organizers in the public areas of the St. Rose hospitals in Henderson, which is uncommon in most organizing efforts, SEIU Local 1107 Executive Director Jane McAlevey said.
Most of the literature that will be distributed to employees will bear the SEIU's and St. Rose's logos, she said. Also, the SEIU can distribute union-specific information if it is approved by hospital officials.
As part of the arrangement, St. Rose management also has agreed to take a neutral stance leading up to the election, which is also uncommon with union organizing, McAlevey said.
McAlevey said the arrangement between the union and Catholic Healthcare enables a faster and fairer election, but is uncommon in the health care industry.
"It's a reflection of a more mature approach to labor and management," she said. "What we're used to is a very contentious, very hostile environment (with most organizing attempts)."
The SEIU alleged in an Oct. 31 complaint to the Las Vegas office of the National Labor Relations Board that St. Rose tried to influence employees' votes and "coerced, intimidated and threatened employees."
The hospitals agreed to a settlement that required them to post signs that said that they would not interfere with workers' rights to participate in a union.
The remaining charges between the union and the hospitals are being addressed privately, Davis said.
"The spirit of communication we've established should help us avoid allegations on both sides that were experienced previously," he said.
If the St. Rose employees approve SEIU representation, a new contract would be negotiated rather than using the California contract, Davis said.
"We've agreed to work in good faith and in an expeditious way should the election be successful," he said, referring to employees voting in favor of SEIU representation.
The SEIU represents nurses at University Medical Center, Desert Springs, Valley and Sunrise hospitals. It also represents technicians at Desert Springs Hospital and health employees at Clark County Health District.
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