NOT ALL ON BOARD

By Scott Moyers ~ Southeast Missourian

There are pro-union buttons being circulated by some nurses at St. Francis Medical Center, but there are anti-union sentiments popping up at the Cape Girardeau hospital as well.

Fifty T-shirts that read "Just Say No To United Food and Commercial Workers" have been distributed by nurses who plan to vote against the union in the upcoming election April 4 and 5.

"There are certainly a lot of us nurses who do not want this union," said Sherry Hooe, a St. Francis nurse since 1991. "The problems here at St. Francis are not going to be solved by any union."

Pro-union nurses say severe staffing shortages have hurt the quality of care at St. Francis. While they acknowledge a national nursing shortage, they have said they believe a union can get the nurses better pay and benefits, which would draw more nurses and keep them from leaving for higher-paying jobs.

But the anti-union nurses -- who don't deny there are problems at St. Francis -- say they'd rather deal directly with management than pay others to do it.

"I don't feel like we need a union to talk to the administration," said Kristi Bowers, a 10-year nurse at St. Francis. "There are a number of us who have all agreed, let's vote on this union, get rid of them, and talk to the administration ourselves. We have problems, but those union people can't make nurses."

Dusty Rhodes, vice president of human relations at St. Francis, said he was pleased to know many nurses agree with the administration that unions are unnecessary.

"I think most of them are silent and aren't saying much, but I think they feel strongly," he said.

Incorrect information

Both sides agree there has been a good deal of misinformation about what unions can or cannot do for the 387 registered nurses at the Catholic Cape Girardeau hospital.

The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1935 to administer the National Labor Relations Act, the primary law governing relations between unions and employers in the private sector.

The board conducts the secret-ballot elections to determine whether employees want union representation and investigates unfair labor practices by employers and unions.

The labor board's regional director in St. Louis, Ralph Tremain, said that if a simple majority of the nurses who vote -- 50 percent plus one -- agree to unionize, it gives UFCW Local 655 exclusive collective bargaining for all employees. Once the labor board certifies the results, St. Francis would be obligated by law to negotiate with the union in good faith, Tremain said.

"If the union is successful in winning the election, the employees are unionized," he said. "But that does not mean that they are all members of the union."

According to Tremain, the law says that:

Employees don't have to join the union, only that unionized workers must pay initiation fees and dues if that's in the contract.

Clauses in the contract also can say that if a worker refuses to pay dues, the union can demand the worker be fired. The employer must comply.

Dues can be collected no sooner than 30 days after the vote and are a condition of the contract.

Contracts can be written in which workers are not required to pay dues and then the burden falls on the union to encourage workers to join and pay dues. Those are less common, however, than contracts that require dues payment as a condition of employment.

After initial approval, employees are prohibited from voting out the union for 12 months. If a contract is reached within the first year, the employees are prohibited from voting the union out for up to three years.

"It's complex, and there are all kinds of variations," Tremain said. "But we're here to make sure it's done right."

What the vote means

Rhodes said he believes the biggest misconception is that some nurses think that when they vote, it doesn't mean that they are unionized.

"If they vote it in, they are unionized, that's the main thing we want to clear up," Rhodes said.

Nick Trupiano, the UFCW organizing director in St. Louis, said the union has been truthful with employees.

"We have told them that all that the vote allows us to do is negotiate a contract," he said. "But it does not make them a member. To me, you're not a member unless you're paying dues."

Trupiano points to the recent unionization of St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis as an example of the power of unions. The nurses' new contract, he said, requires an 18-percent salary increase over three years as well as a bonus when the contract was signed.

Nurses also get $5 more an hour for "pull duty." That's when a nurse in one unit is asked to help out in another. Those nurses didn't pay dues until more than 91 days after their vote, he said.

He said it took them two years to negotiate a contract with St. John's after nurses there voted to unionize.

Charles Keppler, director of human resources at Southeast Missouri Hospital, said he and other hospital management are unaware of any union interest there.

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137