Rift Over Union Grows at Palomar Pomerado
Health Care: Disagreement Over How Nurses Should Vote on
Whether to Unionize
BY MARION WEBB
Senior Staff Writer
In an ongoing dispute over unionizing rights, Palomar Pomerado Health wants to hold a secret ballot election in mid-May.
But Ted Cahill, an organizer with the California Nurses Association, told hospital district board members that the nurses will not vote in an election, but instead use authorization cards to unionize as provided by Assembly Bill 1281.
Under the new law, which took effect in January, public employees can win union representation if more than 50 percent of the affected employees sign the pro-union cards.
But Tamara Hemmerly, a spokeswoman for Palomar Pomerado Health, said the hospital district will challenge the new law.
“We don’t agree with the new law and we feel that the (proposed) election dates give our staff the opportunity to make their own decision and not be intimidated into signing authorization cards without full information of how they will be used,” Hemmerly said.
Gil Taylor, vice president of human resources for Palomar Pomerado Health, proposed May 8 and 9 as election dates in a written statement, adding, “We hope that CNA will cooperate with us in this process.”
Cahill, however, said a majority of the nurses have already signed the cards stating they want unionization.
Hospital leaders and the union disagree over which nurses should be eligible to vote in a union election.
Palomar Pomerado Health officials said in a Feb. 12 statement that they “are willing to seek assistance from the California State Division of Conciliation to help resolve any differences between PPH and the union regarding voter eligibility.”
The state’s Public Employment Relations board in Sacramento, however, already agreed to investigate.
The CNA asked the state agency to mediate the dispute and investigate other charges filed by the union against the hospital district.
Cahill said the union charged that hospital leaders were trying to deny the elective bargaining rights of nurses performing charge and preceptor duties.
Charge nurses coordinate patient scheduling and preceptor nurses train and evaluate new nurses, and thus, are considered managers, Hemmerly said.
Additionally, the CNA charged that union literature was removed from hospital billboards and union organizers were denied access to the hospitals.
Cahill said hospital leaders also refuse to recognize a law protecting nurses’ right to organize. He added that he received a letter from Taylor indicating that hospital leaders “would reconsider the proposal” and possibly include charge- and preceptor nurses.
The exact wording of the letter dated Feb. 12 is, “We are prepared to discuss each of the job classifications and consider modifying our position if presented with an appropriate rationale.”
Hemmerly said on the issue, “We still stand on our position that because of their interaction with staff hiring and schedule setting, they (charge and preceptor nurses) serve in management duties.”
The union wants the district to recognize an old list of eligible nurses that administrators let vote in a previous election.
Cahill said the new list excludes 250 of the district’s 500 nurses, such as charge and preceptor nurses, who should be eligible to vote.
Robert Thompson, general counsel for the Public Employment Relations board, said an attorney is trying to determine whether an arguable violation has taken place.
The next step is typically a meeting within 30 days between the disputing parties to resolve the case. If the case can’t be resolved, then there will a formal hearing, he said.
