 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Ruling supports votes to unionize
By JENNIFER GOLDBLATT, Times Staff Writer BAYONET POINT -- About 400 employees at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point might be one step closer to becoming Teamsters. A hearing officer from the National Labor Relations Board has ruled that there is no merit to objections filed by the hospital and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to elections in which about 400 employees voted to unionize. In October, the hospital's nurses voted 167-136 in favor of joining the Teamsters. Workers in the technical unit voted 51-46 in favor of unionizing, but the Teamsters challenged seven votes, saying the workers were not eligible to vote as members of the unit. Two weeks later, the hospital objected to the elections, charging that the Teamsters had threatened and intimidated employees, made attempts to coerce them into voting against unionization and acted in a way that made for an unfair election. The hospital alleged that the union harassed management, vandalized cars in the hospital parking lot and distributed inflammatory campaign literature. The hospital also charged that a National Labor Relations Board agent had made improper comments during the election that might have coerced employees to change their votes. Out-of-state representatives of the NLRB held a two-day hearing in Tampa in November and ruled Dec. 19 that both the hospital and the union's charges had no merit. "It is recommended that, because the Employer's Objections are without merit, they be dismissed in their entirety," Constance Traylor, a hearing officer for the NLRB in Overland Park, Kan., wrote in a report. Traylor also overruled the union's challenges to the seven ballots, saying that those employees, who worked in the Health Information Management department, should be included in the unit and their votes should be opened and counted. The hearing officer's ruling is a recommendation that will be submitted to the NLRB's Tampa office. Both the hospital and the union have until Wednesday to file objections. If they do not, the NLRB will most likely adopt Traylor's findings and move to certify the elections. Monday, hospital officials said that they had not yet decided whether to object. "We are still reviewing our options to determine if we want to do anything further," said Kurt Conover, Bayonet Point's director of business development. Bob Maldunas, regional organizer for the Georgia-Florida conference of Teamsters, says he has no plans to file objections. "I don't want to hold this up," he said. "Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. Let's open the ballots and start negotiating with the RNs." The NLRB is still investigating nine different unfair labor charges that the union filed against the hospital. Those charges allege that the hospital suspended, wrote up, discriminated against and fired employees because of their union involvement. The hospital changed the conditions of employment and intimidated and threatened workers, according to the union.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
|
