Nurses Will Withdraw Strike Notice as Union Vote Nears

The union representing Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center caregivers notified the hospital that it will withdraw its notice of a strike while top union delegates are encouraging members to reject the latest contract offer by management.

Last week, District 1199 of the National Union of Hospital and Healthcare Employees sent hospital management a ten-day strike notice as a part of a requirement that would allow the hospital to find caregivers to fill those positions. But Saturday, top union delegates say they're withdrawing that notice Monday in hopes the two sides can reach an agreement on the three-year contract for nurses and technicians. "For the moment we want them to come back to the table," says District 1199 President Fonda Osborn.

Still, the union's negotiating committee is recommending to its dues-paying members that they reject hospital management's contract offer made Friday.

A union vote on whether to accept or reject management's contract offer is scheduled Sunday.

As with the last round of contract negotiations between the parties in 2011, the current bargaining contention surrounds staffing levels of caregivers and technical workers at the 268-bed institution that, according to the hospital, serves about 300,000 patients in seven counties across the region. [Click here to read SFR's September 2013 cover story about the staffing debate].

Caregivers say units are understaffed, straining nurses and endangering patients. The hospital has said patient care has improved with current staffing levels, citing the fact that 68 percent of patients rated the hospital on a score of 9-10 in in overall satisfaction in a recent monthly survey. "These staffing levels are comparable to other hospitals of similar size and with similar breadth of services in the U.S." reads a hospital statement issued Friday night. "We are committed to patient care at all times and through all levels of care delivered. We do NOT and will not forgo patient safety and clinical outcomes for cost savings."

The hospital's latest offer proposes targeted staffing hours for nurses be set at the 40th percentile. That means 60 percent of similarly sized peer institutions have more staffers working units than Christus St. Vincent. Management's proposal also pegs staffing levels for technical employees to the 33rd percentile.

Christus St. Vincent says no other hospital in the state has agreed to a staffing floor. At both the state and federal levels, legislation that would mandate minimum staffing levels has failed be be passed into law.

Previously, the union offered to benchmark staffing levels at the 40th percentile. But its latest offer proposes that the hospital benchmark staffing at the 50th percentile, with top union officials saying its members and the community reject the notion that Northern New Mexico's only Level III trauma center should have staffing levels below that of the industry average for institutions of Christus St. Vincent's size.

On pay incentives,management offers a 2 percent base increase for both nurses and technical employees in fiscal year 2014, a 1 percent increase in the following two years with another 1.5 percent "possible increase" tied to patient satisfaction goals. Management also says it's proposing a 1 percent "potential" discretionary bonus at the end of the last two years of the contract.

In a press conference Saturday, top union delegates also said they want an independent party to be able to review grievances in an expatiated manner about any violations of the staffing article in the contract. "There's no enforcement in their proposal," of the staffing article, says Osborn, District 1199 present.

The last contract established a union-management staffing committee whose recommendations the union alleges were not followed by management. Management's latest contract proposal contains an article that would prevent the union from being able to file grievances about staffing with the National Labor Relations Board, "or any state or federal court." Osborn says that since the hospital "never honored" the current staffing committee's proposals, "we have no reason to trust them."

Both sides are encouraging members to vote Sunday. The union has been leafleting the hospital during shift changes, enrolling new members, while hospital management issued a statement to employees telling them to "make sure" to vote. "We do not want a small group of voters to make the decision for hundreds of you," the statement reads.

New contracts will impact all nurses and technical employees, even if they're not dues-paying union members. Some 400 nurses work at Christus St. Vincents. While the union won't give an exact number on how many are dues-paying members, they say it's well over half those covered by labor agreements. About 95 percent of dues-paying members voted last Sunday to reject management's first contract offer, sparking the potential for the first strike at the hospital in more than 25 years.

The current three-year contract expires July 31. The union says its withdrawing its 10-day strike notice on Monday. But it can resubmit that notice at any time.

Santa Fe Reporter