Teamsters: Boulder City Hospital treated employee unfairly

Saturday, July 4, 2009 | 1:59 a.m.

Boulder City Hospital

A second charge of unfair labor practices has been filed with the National Labor Relations Board against the nonprofit Boulder City Hospital.

The Teamsters Union Local 14, which is working to organize the hospital’s 300 nurses, housekeepers and other workers, filed the charge June 30, less than a week after an NLRB judge found the hospital administration had engaged in unfair labor practices from October through March.

The union alleged that the hospital managers have retaliated against nurse Dale Slover for his testimony during a May hearing on the earlier charge.

The judge in that case wrote that the hospital had wrongly interrogated Slover about union activity and that supervisors incorrectly told him that the hospital would close if it were unionized. The judge also wrote that he found Slover’s testimony credible over that of hospital managers.

Attorney Jim Winkler said the hospital is reviewing the decision and deciding whether to appeal any part of it, but declined to comment further.

He did not return calls Thursday about the new charge. Hospital Chief Executive Officer Tom Maher also did not return calls.

Since the hearing, Slover said, supervisors have intimidated him on several occasions.

He was recently dressed down by a nursing supervisor after filing a quality review report, which is supposed to be a confidential way for employees to make concerns that affect patient care known to the administration, he said. In addition, his confidentiality in the matter was breached, he said, sending a clear warning to other employees that if they make their concerns known, they will be upbraided and will not remain anonymous.

He also received a verbal warning from a supervisor, who told him she had information that he was sending messages on Twitter on the job, he said. He does not have a Twitter account and does not take his cell phone into the hospital, he said.

His nursing supervisors also have refused to accept his reports for review until his 12-hour shift has ended at 7:30 p.m., he said, rather than at 7 p.m., so he may leave at the appropriate time.

“Their comment was, ‘Get over yourself,’” he said. “They’re trying to teach me a lesson now. Their goal is to attack my credibility.”

That attitude is what led to the union movement in the first place, Slover said.

Hospital employees have been concerned about staffing cuts that have affected the front line of patient care, he said. While those cuts have been made, no cuts have been made in management, he said.

For example, he said, in a 20-bed hospital that has an average of 10 patients at a time, Boulder City Hospital has four nurses on the day shift -- two in the medical/surgical unit, two in the emergency room, with one on a midshift.

Monday through Friday, he said, the hospital has three nursing managers on the day shift: the chief nursing officer, the acute care manager and a nursing supervisor/education coordinator. In addition, he said, the hospital has two full-time case managers.

The nursing managers do not provide direct patient care, he said, which in a small hospital is hard to justify.

“The staff’s concern is that we have more managers in the patient care areas than working nurses,” he said.

In addition, he said, in the long-term care unit, the administration is trying to cut shifts of the certified nursing assistants, who are responsible for bringing patients water, bathing them and changing the linen. At the same time, he said, the hospital now has both a director of long-term care and a manager of long-term care.

Maher did not respond to a request to confirm the staffing numbers.

“Why are the patient caregivers suffering?” Slover asked.

Slover said he brought the staffing concerns to Maher and the chief nursing officer, but was told, “If the staff is not happy, there’s the door.”

The employees do not hope for any change in their pay with the union representation, Slover said. They just want cuts in staffing to be fair and to have their concerns heard, he said.

“We understand the hospital is going through tough times,” he said. “We are concerned about patient care.

“There needs to be a grievance process. We need to be able to say, ‘I’m not comfortable with this. It’s not safe for the patient.’”

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Discussion: comments so far…

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By dave202 (Dave Griffith)

July 4, 2009

5:20 a.m.

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Keep the union out. We need a hospital in BC and it will indeed be forced to close if it has to deal with these Nazis....
By Espinoza

July 4, 2009

8:37 a.m.

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Be careful: Let the union mafia in, and pretty soon workers there will be as inappropriately demanding and greedy as Clark County firefighters.
By RACE_CAR_DIVA

July 4, 2009

9:09 a.m.

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I remember when the ceo of the hospital was trying to convince the town we needed a new tax on us to support the hospital. He came across as a pompous and impolite jerk in the meetings with the public. If he acted like that in public, can't imagine he treats the employees very well. The managers might kiss his butt to keep their jobs, but what about the regular employees? Employees don't normally seek union representation unless management is second-class. Aristotle: "There are three things that inspire confidence in (one's) character: common sense; a polite, well-disposed attitude; and a sound moral reputation."
By homer

July 4, 2009

9:52 a.m.

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dave202 Your post proves just how really ignorant you are. In theory you can call unions socialists but never Nazi's, that is not a justifiable comparrison.
You are either not intelligent enough to understand why the National Labor Relations Board ruled the way the did by reading the story or your have some lame agenda that you are pursuing. Very rarely does the NLRB rule in favor of employees or unions,as has been the case now for the last twenty five years. The findings against the hospital had to be glaring. Before you make a post like you did you should go to work at the hospital and be treated like the employees have that brought this case to the NLRB. I doubt you will and I doubt you have meaningful employment. Keep listening to Fox News.
By homer

July 4, 2009

9:56 a.m.

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Espinoza, Do you understand the facts here? A smart person would not want an employye who has been mistreated( the facts prove this) taking care of their loved ones. I doubt seriously if you have the ability to understand your own post. The mafia and the union? Quit living in the sixties which I doubt you were even alive then.
By neiman1

July 4, 2009

10:16 a.m.

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There is no doubt the Boulder City Hospital will close if it is unionized. It may close without being unionized.
By skipsdog

July 4, 2009

3:09 p.m.

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My wife has worked at Harmony Healthcare for more than two years and is a member of the #14 Teamsters. She has never seen a representative of that local, never has heard of/from a union steward (if there really is one). She has never seen or heard of a union/management contract, much voted for or against one. Watch out hospital!
By RACE_CAR_DIVA

July 4, 2009

11:46 p.m.

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skipsdog, i would advise your wife to withdraw from the union if she doesn't feel like she is getting her money's worth. she might save a lot of money every month too after doing that.
By MISSUOH

July 5, 2009

3:10 p.m.

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If the majority of the employees of BCH signed in favor of the possibility of union representation then the management should have given them the freedom to have an election without harassment. As far as I know, BCH Is in the USA where by law, employees have that constitutional right without the threats.
By MedAsst1975

July 5, 2009

11:30 p.m.

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As a patient who is familiar with the hospital, and how they operate, as well as how they operate with their administrative practices, I am not surprised by the problems Mr. Slover is experiencing. To go union will not necessarily fix these problems though. I have family members who are union, or have been union prior to retiring, and there are clauses in their contracts that actually say that the employer has the right to change the contract whenever they feel like it. That does little to go through the hassle of getting the union on your side in the first place, paying dues every month, and then find out that your employer can yank that contract that is supposed to be a union security blanket out from under you.

With regards to Mr. Slover's seemingly endless difficulties with the hospital, there are a lot of opportunities out there with other facilities that are hiring. I am a M.A. and the job boards are constantly filled with the listings for R.N.'s. There aren't the same nightmares in other places. That might leave the hospital without a nurse, but, they seem confident in their ability to deal with it.....after all, they said it themselves.

.....they don't like it? there's the door.
By Fred_Flintstone

July 6, 2009

11:12 a.m.

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You call this news? This is not about the union or the hospital, this is about one unhappy nurse. That's all. Every time I read one of thes stories, it's the same nurse complaining about things he can't prove. Nice job Norman, you're turing our local paper into a tabloid with this stuff.
By MISSUOH

July 6, 2009

7:57 p.m.

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Fred Flinstone, why do you assume this nurse is unhappy? Do you have evidence that can help comfirm that?
By nv_insomniac

July 19, 2009

4:31 p.m.

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Is the place overstaffed or is it understaffed? He can't have it both ways. It's no secret that big business is more efficient than small business, that's true in every industry. They have two case managers? good! They have managers and supervisors on staff? good! they're supposed to. Sounds like a good place to be treated if there's such a high ratio of nursing staff to a few patients. Somebody disciplined him for twittering on the job? good! Don't complain that patient care is suffering and at the same time complain you can't goof off on the job. How ridiculous is this? Mr. Slover should be embarrassed for himself.