NURSES UNION, AT ODDS WITH A.V. HOSPITAL.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Antelope Valley Hospital and the California Nurses Association have filed unfair labor practice complaints against each other in the heated battle over whether registered nurses should unionize.

In addition, CNA has asked the state Public Employment Relations Board to stop the hospital from, the union claims, breaking state labor law.

``These types of injunctions are quite rare. We feel the violations are so massive that an injunction is required. We are especially concerned about the hospital stepping up its campaign by forming an anti-union committee,'' said Beth Kean, CNA's organizing director.

The CNA filed the unfair practice charge against the hospital Tuesday, charging that the hospital has ``resorted to various unlawful means of interference, intimidation, harassment, and coercion of RN employees...'' against the union effort, records show.

Hospital officials said they will fight the complaint.

``We think it has no merit. We will be opposing the charge vigorously,'' said Mary Palmer, a hospital attorney.

Chief Executive Officer Mathew Abraham said the hospital is not waging an anti-union campaign. ``We always convey to employees information about unions and what unions do, and how we feel it is in the best interest to remain union-free,'' Abraham said.

The hospital filed its complaint against CNA after receiving complaints from employees that they were getting calls from CNA representatives while at work, hospital officials said.

``It's got to do with the fact that the union has interfered with work flow by calling employees at work. We have generated information that shows several phone calls to employees while they were at work and it's interfering with patient care,'' Abraham said.

The CNA petitioned the hospital two weeks ago to be recognized as the nurses' union representative on the basis of having collected union authorization cards from a majority of the hospital's 575 registered nurses.

Antelope Valley Hospital officials said the following week that unionization can only be done through a majority vote in a secret ballot election.

A state law that took effect in January says employee unions at a public agency - like Antelope Valley Hospital - can be formed after union authorization cards are collected from a majority of workers, constituting essentially an election, union officials said.

The CNA contacted the state conciliation and mediation service to request that it step in to conduct the check of the authorization cards, but the hospital refused to participate in the mediation process, the CNA complaint said.

``The CNA feels that the cards the employees signed is a vote. We don't believe it is. We are advised it's not. Until we're legally convinced it is a vote, we are not going to accept that as a vote,'' Abraham said.

Among the charges leveled in the CNA complaint is that the hospital is authorizing and directing a ``sham employee committee called 'Employees for a Independent Hospital,' established as an illegitimate front organization for employer opposition and interference ...,'' records show.

Abraham said the hospital has not formed any employee committee. ``The hospital has not created any committee. I have heard about a committee being formed by employees. I'm not a party to that,'' Abraham said.

A second allegation is that the hospital administration routinely removes CNA literature from bulletin boards and other posting areas, while at the same time allowing personal notices or fliers to remain posted and allowing nurses opposed to unionization to post and distribute their literature, the CNA complaint said.

``When we put up fliers in the hospital, the hospital rips them down in two minutes. Other fliers from the employee committee are not taken down, which is proof the hospital is winking to allow them extra access to employees,'' Kean said.

Abraham said bulletin boards are for hospital use only. ``If there's anything not authorized by the hospital, we have the right to remove that. We have not posted anti-union material. We've posted educational materials and information that employees have requested,'' Abraham said.

CNA also complained that the hospital has adopted a rule against nurses wearing pins or buttons indicating membership in or support of CNA. Abraham said the hospital has a dress code that employees can only wear certain things at work.

The hospital also has distributed anti-CNA, anti-union ``broadcast e- mail'' messages to all employees from Abraham and employees who are opposed to the CNA, the CNA complaint said. The complaint included copies of employee anti-union e-mails.

``We have had employees ask questions about union matters. We've responded as a way to keep employees informed,'' Abraham said.