BLUEFIELD — A federal court has ordered two West Virginia hospitals to stop blocking a democratic vote by nurses, recognize the nurses’ right to join a union and bargain with them for a first collective bargaining agreement, representatives of a nursing union said in a press release Friday.

The United States 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a judicial mandate on July 18 that two West Virginia hospitals, Bluefield Regional Medical Center (BRMC), in Bluefield and Greenbrier Valley Medical Center (GVMC), in Ronceverte, recognize and bargain with registered nurses affiliated with the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United, according to union representatives. In its order, the court acted on a request from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) which prosecuted unfair labor practice charges brought by NNOC/NNU against BRMC and GVMC. The NLRB turned to the courts for enforcement after BRMC and GVMC refused to recognize and bargain with the union.

On July 12, the NLRB found merit to a number of charges brought by NNOC/NNU relating to more recent and ongoing unlawful conduct by BRMC and GVMC. The NLRB will prosecute both hospitals and parent company, Community Health Systems/CHS, if they do not remedy the violations. Tennessee-based CHS is the nation’s largest for-profit hospital chain, reporting $1.5 billion in profits over the last five years.

“We are happy that the NLRB is holding our employer accountable to the law and is ordering them to rescind the unlawful changes they’ve made. It is disappointing that such extreme measures must be taken especially when we are using our labor rights to protect our patients,” Tracey Jesse, RN, BRMC said.

CHS’ refusal to address nurses’ widespread concerns about patient safety at both BRMC and GVMC was the driving force that galvanized RNs to organize and win representation with NNOC/NNU in August of 2012, union officials said in the press release. Since that time CHS has engaged in rampant illegal labor practices in a wide-scale attempt to weaken support for the union and forestall reaching initial collective bargaining agreements.

The hospital issued a statement Friday to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

“Bluefield Regional Medical Center intends to vigorously contest this determination by the National Labor Relations Board General Counsel. This is an administrative, legal matter and will have no impact on our daily operations. Patients can continue to count on us for safe, quality care,” Rebekah Ritter, director of marketing, public relations and volunteers at BRMC said Friday afternoon.

The NLRB found the following violations at BRMC and seeks the remedies described below, according to union representatives:

• BRMC, together with CHS, unlawfully fired all of the Certified RN Anesthetists (CRNAs) and restructured the anesthesia department under the management of a subcontractor.
• That BRMC restore its anesthesia department and reinstate the nurses performing that work, and repay them for any consequential damages incurred, including all search for work and work related expenses.
• BRMC unlawfully delayed a wage increase under the pretext of blaming them for voting for union representation.
• BRMC unlawfully made changes to paid time off, mandatory overtime, and staffing policies and refused to provide information the union was entitled to receive in representing nurses.
• That BRMC rescind these unlawful changes to nurses’ terms of employment, reimburse the nurses for losses incurred, and provide the union the information it has refused to furnish.

The NLRB seeks remedies to the following violations at GVMC:

• GVMC, together with CHS, unlawfully made changes to nurses’ terms of employment, including paid time off, mandatory overtime, staffing policies, and hours of work in the Cath Lab.
• That GVMC rescind unlawful changes to nurses’ terms of employment and reimburse employees for losses suffered.
• GVMC unlawfully remo-ved relief charge nurse duties, and unlawfully threatened employees to accept a permanent non-union charge nurse position.
• That GVMC restore the relief charge nurse duties and reimburse nurses for losses that were a direct result of its illegal conduct.

The NLRB General Counsel is also seeking that, in addition to the standard Notice to Employees of an employer’s unlawful conduct, BRMC, GVMC and corporate parent CHS be required to have their representatives, or an NLRB Agent in the presence of BRMC, GVMC and CHS representatives, read the NLRB Notice of this litany of unlawful conduct aloud to nurses, to ensure that the nurses are fully aware how their rights to have a union have been violated, according to the press release.

Currently the National Labor Relations Board is also holding public hearings in multiple states as part of a trial, prosecuted by the NLRB’s General Counsel, for multiple and repeated alleged labor violations at seven hospitals owned by CHS, including BRMC and GVMC in West Virginia. As part of the trial process, the NLRB’s trial judge is holding public hearings near each of the hospitals where the violations allegedly occurred.

The public hearing for BRMC will be held beginning on Aug. 8 at Fairfield Inn & Suites at 107 Halls Ridge Rd. near Princeton. The hearing for GVMC will be held in Greenbrier beginning on Sept. 19.

Source: http://www.bdtonline.com/news/federal-court-brmc-gvmc-must-recognize-nurses-union