In the end, both sides of labor dispute give a little

Michael Mishak and Marshall Allen

Friday, Feb. 9, 2007 | 7:08 a.m.

Nurses and technicians from the Service Employees International Union Local 1107 said they were fighting for patient care, not money, in their pitched labor dispute with the Valley Health System.

But when the two parties finally settled on a new contract Wednesday, it fell short of measures the union insisted were necessary to improve patient care - enforceable staffing ratios and a ban on mandatory overtime.

While SEIU officials could claim only strategic advances in those areas, the union was a clear victor in the critical area of salary, winning pay increases for the nurses and technicians at Valley Hospital Medical Center and Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center.

Nurses, depending on their assignment, will get raises ranging from 18 percent to 30 percent by the end of the three-year contract. In the same time period, respiratory therapists will get a 20 percent salary bump.

So, at the end of a 10-month fight, both sides had to give. The nurses got more money, but the conflict also focused on other major issues: mandated staffing levels, forced overtime, "floating" policies that allow shifting nurses to other departments and the grievance sharing process.

The 15,000-member union represents about 940 nurses and technicians at the hospitals, which are part of the Valley Health System.

The dispute started a year ago, when the union began negotiating a new contract with all hospitals in Las Vegas. Talks yielded agreements with Catholic Healthcare West, which owns the St. Rose Dominican hospitals, and HCA, which owns the Sunrise Health hospitals. But the process proved fruitless with Valley.

The union voted to strike, starting Dec. 4, and a day after the work stoppage, elected officials pressured the parties into a 60-day "cooling-off" period, during which they would meet with a mediator for talks.

Earlier, the two sides had called each other liars and bullies more concerned with self-interest than patient care. In the cooling-off period's final 30 days, discussions were mediated by Philip Satre, former chairman of Harrah's Entertainment. He was out of town and unavailable for comment Thursday.

Both parties say the talks took on a new tone under Satre's leadership, particularly in the marathon negotiating sessions that lasted three days beyond the cooling-off deadline.

The two sides gathered 12 hours a day between Friday and Sunday in meeting rooms at Harrah's Reno hotel. Valley and SEIU representatives met in separate caucus rooms and then joined for discussions.

"Everyone was very cordial," said David Bussone, group director of the Valley Health System. "Nobody lost their temper at any time. It was just good, solid discussion."

On Tuesday, the parties met through the day and into the evening in Las Vegas, and on Wednesday they had an afternoon conference call to hash out the deal. On Wednesday night, the nurses voted unanimously to accept the agreement.

Bussone declined to discuss who won or lost in the prolonged dispute. Jane McAlevey, executive director of the SEIU, called it an "enormous victory" for the nurses.

But a closer examination shows that while the union made financial gains, it compromised in the area of patient care - previously its most outspoken concern. McAlevey called the compromises necessary steps toward the same long-term goals that the union has accomplished with other local hospital chains.

According to the union, the contracts with the St. Rose Dominican and Sunrise Health hospitals include enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios.

The union also made mandatory staffing ratios a centerpiece of its Valley campaign. But while the new Valley contract opens the door to staffing discussions, it does not enforce levels the nurses desire.

The nurses also argue that patient care is compromised when they are forced to work overtime. The practice was banned in the St. Rose and Sunrise contracts, but not in the new Valley agreement. Still, the union says progress was made.

"Now they are acknowledging (mandatory overtime) and committing to talk about it," said Carter Wright, a union spokesman.

The union declared victories by defending a policy about shifting nurses between departments and bolstering the strength of a patient-care and staffing committee.

McAlevey says the hospital was trying to chop away at the "floating" policy, which could have allowed administrators to shuffle nurses between departments, regardless of their skills or experience. The new contract allows nurses to be moved only between departments where they're qualified, union officials said.

The patient-care and staffing committee, established in 2004, had been billed as a venue for nurses to voice their concerns to hospital management. But according to the union, the committee met only on a quarterly basis and senior hospital staff were often no-shows.

Under the new contract, the committee will meet monthly, with required attendance by the chief nursing executive. Plus, a soon-to-be-hired mediator will ensure the two sides hear each other out.

"The nurses now have a guaranteed institutional voice in a serious committee process," McAlevey said.

The committee lacks the authority to determine staffing levels or patient care measures, but can make suggestions to the administration.

"Fundamentally, we're taking a leap of faith," McAlevey said.

McAlevey said the changes to the committee are a positive start, similar to the one in 2005 with the St. Rose hospitals that led to mandated staffing ratios in 2006.

The new agreement, McAlevey said, represents "a new day" in the union's relationship with the Valley Health System.

"The nurses have built a powerful voice," McAlevey said. "But they prefer to exercise it quietly."