Beverly vigorously contests NLRB charges; NLRB and unions teaming up to press labor agenda with trumped-up charges.

FORT SMITH, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 21, 1996--Beverly Enterprises (NYSE:BEV) Thursday branded a complaint by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) the ludicrous product of outrageous complicity between the government and the labor movement.

Specifically, Beverly said the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) had trumped up a number of ridiculous charges against Beverly as fodder for the General Counsel of the NLRB to charge the company with ``unfair labor practices.''

These charges, in turn, provide a convenient cover for the union -- in the midst of heated contract negotiations -- to call for a strike based not on the actual economic issues on the negotiating table but on the pretense of ``unfair labor practices.''

The complaints against Beverly have no legal or moral basis. Beverly has been accused of establishing ``overly broad disciplinary rules'' under which employees are subject to discipline for refusing to cooperate in the investigation of any allegation of patient (resident) neglect or abuse or any other alleged violation of company rules, laws or government regulations, or making false or misleading work-related statements concerning the company, the facility or fellow associates.

The rules were adopted because certain employees in the past had made false charges about patient care as part of a union-orchestrated effort to generate unfavorable publicity and otherwise embarrass and harass the company.

For more than 14 years, Beverly has been the target of a union- sponsored, so-called ``corporate campaign'' designed to strengthen the unions' hand at the bargaining table and, ultimately, force union representation on employees without allowing secret ballot elections.

Neil Gulsvig, vice president, communications, of Beverly, explained: ``The charges are absurd. The union's agenda is clear, and fits into their nationwide scheme to force union representation on all Beverly employees without giving them a chance to vote on whether they want to be in the union or not.''

He added: ``With tactics like these, it is easy to see why the unions must coerce membership. What person in his right mind would join an organization that seeks to guarantee its members the `right' to lie and to obstruct justice?

``None of our employees has objected to our perfectly reasonable code of behavior. The only reason I can see for the union to seek to eliminate a requirement to uphold the common standards of human decency and truthfulness is that they require dishonesty to succeed in their attempts to infiltrate and sabotage Beverly by misrepresenting the truth whenever it suits them,'' Gulsvig said.

Beverly is also charged with failing to involve the unions in discussions regarding the code of ethics. ``It is inconceivable to me that a company is not allowed to adopt a policy mandating ethical behavior without negotiating it with a union. Under what imaginable moral system should the `right' to lie require negotiations?'' Gulsvig asked.

The underlying reality is that these filings are the latest event in a 14-year campaign by the unions to infiltrate Beverly. Because the unions have not met with the kind of success they want by recruiting volunteers, they are waging a smear campaign against Beverly.

They are assisted in this process by the NLRB, which is widely staffed with union members and former union lawyers, and has a long history of granting unfair decisions in favor of the unions.

The unions are pursuing contracts that blatantly disregard the needs and concerns of individual members and facilities, but provide greater leverage for the unions to carry out their national organizing strategy. These union tactics cast Beverly employees into the role of pawns in the unions' master plan.

With contract negotiations ongoing in a number of states, and a strike notice issued in at least one instance, Beverly is anxious to negotiate agreements at each of its union facilities. The company has a long history of treating employees fairly and keeping them apprised of their rights -- whether or not they are union members.

The unions are also pressing charges against Beverly simply for informing its employees of their rights to declare that their dues may be used only for traditional union activities -- not to finance political action committees and corporate campaigns.

Beverly said it will fight these baseless charges and the NLRB's reprehensible conduct by all available means.

``For the sake of our employees, residents and shareholders, we have an obligation to defend ourselves against union-sponsored tyranny. We might be able to accept that the unions have lost sight of the needs of their members and are completely focused on increasing their national power.

``We shouldn't have to accept that a government charged with creating a just society would actively support this agenda,'' Gulsvig said.

Beverly Enterprises Inc. is a long-term health-care company operating nursing facilities, institutional pharmacies, acute long- term transitional hospitals, assisted living centers, hospice programs and home health centers.

Its mission is to deliver high-quality health care that exceeds the expectations of each of its customers and to be the provider and employer of choice in each of the communities served.

CONTACT: Beverly Enterprises Inc., Fort Smith

Neil Gulsvig, 501/452-6712