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Labor ruling could fuel drive for union
Veteran nurse at Mercy Medical Center feels 'this would irritate people all the more and maybe things will move ahead.'
Friday, October 06, 2006
A decision this week by the National Labor Relations Board that exempts workers with supervisory duties from joining or organizing a labor bargaining unit could have a rippling effect on hundreds of Springfield and Miami Valley employees.
The 3-2 ruling announced Tuesday states that nurses who spend up to 15 percent of their time completing supervisory tasks be designated as supervisors and exempt from federal protections that cover union membership.
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While the ruling is based on cases involving the health care profession, it has broad implications for other industries, according to labor leaders and the Washington D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute.
The Miami Valley market is home to "potentially a large number of workers who are not going to be able to engage in collective bargaining because of this ruling," said Rudy Fichtenbaum, an economics professor at the Raj Soin College of Business at Wright State University.
Sue Allen, a registered nurse and 28-year veteran at Mercy Medical Center, said the ruling will only fuel the fire for union organization. She said Springfield employees have attempted to organize five times in five years.
"My gut feeling is that this would irritate people all the more and maybe things will move ahead," she said. "It's so blatant how they're trying to tilt the scale in the favor of the employer. If I really had the power to hire and fire, then I would be a manager."
Mercy spokesman Jim Senese said that 18 percent of employees of the hospital's parent company, Catholic Health Care Partners, are union members. The company has facilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee.
"Only a fraction are charge nurses, so this ruling would have very little effect on us," he said.
For those facilities with unions, Greg Smith, Catholic Health spokesman, said reviews would take place "on a facility by facility basis" and require additional NLRB clarification and guidance
"If there are any changes, it wouldn't happen until contracts expired," he said.
The Washington-based EPI estimates that up to 8 million workers nationwide — 108,000 in Ohio, of which 60,000 are nurses — are at risk of losing legal protections because of this ruling.
"It doesn't just affect nursing. It affects how business is done in this country," said Gingy Harshey-Meade, chief executive officer of the Ohio Nurses Association.
Joyce Moscato of the Columbus-based Service Employees International Union said there are 5,000 registered nurses working in the Miami Valley.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
