Nurses charge Chaffee again with unfair labor practice

SPRINGVILLE, Sept. 9, 2011 – The union representing registered nurses who work at Bertrand Chaffee Hospital and Jennie B. Richmond Nursing Home has filed additional unfair labor practice charges against hospital administrators.

The 25 nurses, represented by the New York State Nurses Association, have been negotiating a new contract with management for several months. A federal mediator has been involved since May 12.

According to the charges, hospital management is trying to intimidate RNs by violating their federally protected right to take part in collective bargaining activities:

Laying off three RNs who supported their union. When management served the layoff notices, the hospital was already short on nursing staff, posting 43 eight-hour shifts for overtime.
Threatening to sue the elected president of the local for libel for speaking publicly about the nurses’ contract dispute with management.
Conducting a partial lockout by preventing union members from reporting to work on their units.
Assigning unionized employees’ work to non-union employees.

The nurses are asking for management to balance the budget in a responsible manner that maintains quality patient care and that provides fair wages and benefits. Nurses have already proposed a wage freeze for 2011 and other time-off concessions through Jan 1, 2014.

Nurses have been working with management for several years to keep the hospital open and continue to do so. They’ve already done their part to share the sacrifice. Now, the hospital must do more to increase its flow of revenue by recruiting physicians to work locally in an effort to actually live up to its slogan, “Keep Healthcare Local.”

In July, the Nurses Association filed its first round of charges against Chaffee, citing management’s failure to bargain in good faith by not providing information necessary for bargaining. Under federal labor law, union members are entitled to relevant information in order to make informed decisions.

More than 150 employees took part in an informational picket on July 6 to protest management’s giveback demands, cuts that would hurt the facility’s ability to recruit and retain staff.

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is New York’s largest professional association and union for registered nurses. The association represents registered nurses, and some all-professional bargaining units, in New York and New Jersey. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

- 30 -