Directories
Quick Searches
Find a Job
Quick Search
For Employers
Yahoo! HotJobs Local Search
Tri-City nurses vote to stay in union
By: PAUL SISSON - Staff Writer | ∞
OCEANSIDE -- Tri-City Medical Center's 702 registered nurses will remain members of the California Nurses Association.
According to results provided by the hospital late Wednesday night, 63 percent of registered nurses voted to remain union members in a decertification vote held at the public hospital.
Hospital spokesman Jeff Segall said that 342 nurses voted yes on the question of whether to remain in the nursing union, while 197 voted no. A total of 539 registered nurses cast secret ballots, pushing the turnout rate to 77 percent.
More than half of Tri-City's 700 registered nurses signed union cards in 2005. One year later, as allowed by hospital policy, 240 nurses filed a petition declaring their wish to leave the union.
Nurses who wanted out of the union have said over the last three months that they disagree with the way the union card-signing process was used to unionize the nursing staff in 2005, saying that a secret ballot is more democratic.
More recently, those who filed the decertification petition have said that they do not believe a three-year contract recently approved between the union and the hospital made enough gains for nurses.
Denise Douglass, one of the nurses who pushed hardest for decertification, said late Wednesday that she was pleased with the election's turnout, even though the union will still represent her.
She said she is satisfied to know that a majority of her fellow nurses truly want to be union members.
"It was a very well-put-on election, very fair," Douglass said. "They all came out and they voted. It was fair, and nobody should have any hard feelings."
Brenda Hamm, a Tri-City nurse and chief nurse representative for the union at Tri-City, said there was no victory celebration after the ballots were counted.
"It's a nice relief for everybody, and I think it really united all of the nurses," Hamm said.
Dennis Wilhite, an intensive care nurse who said he has worked at the hospital for 2 1/2 years, said he marked his ballot to keep the union. He said the election has caused a divide between union backers and those who want out.
"The tension is so bad that you can cut it with a knife," Wilhite said.
But Wilhite, speaking in the afternoon before it was clear that the union would win, said he was sure that he and his fellow nurses would be able to put aside the long-standing friction that has divided nurses into two camps: Union supporters and union detractors.
"We are all professionals," he said.
Douglass and Hamm said they too saw the vote as a turning point.
"Now that it's over, I think we can patch things up and work together," Hamm said.
"I feel a total relief that everybody is now united as we were before," Douglass added.
Tri-City was required to bring in an independent official to conduct the election to make sure there were no attempts to influence its outcome.
The scene in the basement assembly room Wednesday was simple.
The state supervisor, who said he "made it his policy" not to speak to the media, sat at the front of the room, flanked by four observers ---- two members of the nurses union and two hospital employees. On a folding table sat the ballot box, a plain wooden crate with a slot cut in the top.
Each nurse was given a paper ballot asking whether the nurses association should continue to represent Tri-City's registered nurses.
-- Contact staff writer Paul Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or psisson@nctimes.com.
More Stories
Advertisement
Randy wrote on Mar 1, 2007 3:28 AM:How many more distractions will the hospital successfully address?
TCMC RN wrote on Mar 1, 2007 4:39 AM:Hoorah!!! Now let's move forward to work on pt. health and safety issues and nurse staffing issues brought forth by the newly formed Nurse Clinical Practice Council. As a united voice we can force TCMC to address issues of concern!!!!
Tri City Blues wrote on Mar 1, 2007 6:18 AM:The Tri City CNA nurses are the guardians of patient care. Now, they will be protected from any management abuses when the nurses raise legitimate concerns or issues pertaining to the delivery of patient care, safety, and quaility.
Tri City Blues wrote on Mar 1, 2007 6:39 AM:Now the exodus of many qualified nurses will stop - They will no longer have to leave because of frustration with management's assault on their careers. No longer will management be able to manipulate the truth regarding real patient delivery issues. Nurses can now speak up about management’s very own incompetence, skewing outcomes, and withholding limited resources for the bonus scheme benefiting management. CNA nurses can hold management accountable. CNA nurses will have the freedom to speak up, without fear of any management acts of vengeance.
Kim wrote on Mar 1, 2007 7:12 AM:Again, Tri-City bet wrong. Two wrong bets on bad bonds and now a bad bet on busting the union and intimidating nurses. When will this board and executive get it right? Maybe the ballot box will tell the tale.
Yippie! wrote on Mar 1, 2007 7:53 AM:Compulsory unionism and lowered overall standards in healthcare win again! I know I want a nurse taking care of me who is paid not based on her/his skill level and merit, but rather on her/his ability to stay on the job as long as she/he can. Chalk up another victory for patients. Too bad Kathleen... has so little faith in the hospitals administrative staff. Makes you wonder how a person who harbors that much animosity and hatred can possibly be a uniting force on the board. More like a distraction and an embarrassment. Interesting that the union couldn't even get 50% support from the nurses.
Unions Suck wrote on Mar 1, 2007 8:04 AM:They've seriously outlived their usefullness and have now provided me with just one more reason I hope I never have to use Tri City.
Vista Granny wrote on Mar 1, 2007 9:13 AM:Does Denise Douglass believe the nurses would have gotten a better without the union? Highly skilled and educated or not, nurses in general are still just hourly workers. They have no voice unless they organize.
Joe B wrote on Mar 1, 2007 2:53 PM:Typically, I am not a union guys, but when it comes to Tri-City, I know for a fact that they employees need all the help they can get.
Joe B wrote on Mar 1, 2007 2:55 PM:Tri-City will fight anyone at anytime, and they do not care how much they lose in the process. Again I state, they need to fire the current VP of Marketing, Coleman and toss out Art. While they are at it they need to fire Debbie King. They are clowns. They are actually killing the image of Tri-City Medical Center. Scatch that, killed the image of TCMC.
Joe B to TCMC wrote on Mar 1, 2007 2:56 PM:Lose, Lose, Lose... you pay many underqualified people to lose. I thought you may get sick of it.
Joe B wrote on Mar 1, 2007 2:57 PM:The rest of the hospital need to unionize. The administration would not have such a strangle hold on the staff then.
Floyd wrote on Mar 1, 2007 4:36 PM:342 "Yes" votes is less than half of the 700 registered nurses, even though more than half originally signed the union cards. That shows disapproval. How can the union win an election when it cannot muster enough "yes" votes to represent the majority?
What a Shame wrote on Mar 1, 2007 5:20 PM:The union and its supporters have taken away the voice of the individual nurse. When you FORCE at least 197 of your coworkes to be a part of an organization against their will, you have taken away their voice. It's a shame they refuse to see this.
Peppermint Pattie wrote on Mar 1, 2007 6:02 PM:To Floyd- 342 votes is enough to say we have the majority and the floor!! Just try and get everyone to vote during a presidential election-Good Luck!!
Peppermint Pattie wrote on Mar 1, 2007 6:07 PM:To What a Shame- the individual nurse still has a voice-come to a meeting and let us all in on your concerns!! You should thank your fellow RN'S who fought hard to protect our rights and our patients and get us a fair raise for once!! This facility is in financial trouble and nurses salaries were frozen once before by Mr. Gonzales in an attempt to balance the books from mis-management!!! Has Mr. Gonzales taken a pay cut or had his salary frozen to help balance the books-NO!!!
Marcus to Joe B wrote on Mar 1, 2007 6:34 PM:At first I was going to question your recommendations on who should be fired from Tri-City, but then I remembered: you are an expert. I mean, you were fired from Tri-City Medical Center, so I'm sure you have a keen understanding of what it takes to be canned. What were you fired for again? Or do we not want to talk about that, Joe?
Doctor Doctor wrote on Mar 1, 2007 6:55 PM:Kathleen Tri City Blues fails to understand...the bonds got over 63% of the votes in each election and lost. I hope the nurses use their guaranteed longevity to improve their nursing and people skills...
Responsibility and Reflection wrote on Mar 1, 2007 7:07 PM:The only distraction on the board is those board members who fear being found out that they continue to fail to get it right. Their own fears provokes their needless but willful rudeness not to listen to the concerns raised by the minority voices particularly about the frivolous spending on overutilization of consultants and lawyers to do the work the CEO and his team was hired to do. Gonzalez's and his team have a long record of screwing things up at other hospitals. The board is now handpicked and compromised by Gonzalez. They act as a protective barrier from any controversy. It is inappropriate for the elected to come to the meetings with their minds already made up - rubberstamping CEO Gonzalez half-baked ideas. Obviously, fear lies not with one or two board members but rather what the minority voice brings to the table about the issues, or concerns raised by the public.
Tri City Blues wrote on Mar 1, 2007 7:44 PM:Nurses NOW can stand up as a professional group to stop any bloodletting before there's harm. Before they had to do what they were told by management even if it were not in the best interest of the patient. The public should demand to know the settlement amounts spent on lawsuits to defend management's failures against prevailing plaintiffs. All settlements are public record. It is the right of the taxpayer to know - Millions in settlement losses, millions with the bonus scheme that violates the board's bylaws; millions gone to consultants hired to do the job of the CEO; millions on gone awry physician and clinical recruitments. The public must learn the truth about Gonzalez and his team - they should be booted out - without the golden parachute! Remember the way the scheme is set-up the taxpayer will pay over the life of the CEO millions in his retirement too. Then again, without public participation, discourse and debate - like city hall advocates, we all get what we deserve - a sloppy board with sloppy management with lawyers who greedily succeed for their only fight is billable hours. Meanwhile WE only get higher health insurance premiums with less and less access to accountable, affordable, quality care paying higher property taxes - mortgages and rents.
Thank You Nurses wrote on Mar 1, 2007 8:06 PM:Thanks for keeping us Union Managers employed. The bonus we will get from your recertification will get me a nice upgrade on my new cadillac, from cloth to leather. We really enjoy getting something for nothing.
Ironic. wrote on Mar 1, 2007 10:02 PM:240 signatures to hold an election, only 197 voted no, in the end. Typical. The union boss will be nursing their wages forever now.
Union Man and Proud of It! wrote on Mar 2, 2007 1:55 AM:The heck with you all! Censorship sucks. NCT is in the hip pocket of Gonzo! Long Live the cause.
Joe B to Marcus wrote on Mar 2, 2007 1:10 PM:I always stated why I was fired. You must be too dumb to read. Tri-City got what they deserved. My job is so much better now. I have Tri-City to thank. FIRE THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT, they will save over a million a year if they do that. It's not like they do anything anyway.
- ESCONDIDO: Man shot dead at Fourth of July party (18)
- TEMECULA: Parade, fireworks draw thousands on nation's birthday (11)
- FALLBROOK: Peruvian chocolatier living sweet American dream (10)
- CARLSBAD: Golf benefit raises $20,000 for Conner's Cause (9)
- SAN PASQUAL VALLEY: Animal park offering extended hours, extra shows and activities (7)
Advertisement
Videos
Advertisement