Portland, OR
In the largest National Labor Relations Board election ever held for a unit of registered nurses, more than 2,600 nurses employed by Sharp HealthCare of San Diego voted overwhelmingly in June 1996 to join the United Nurses Association of California, an AFSCME affiliate.
The company, which is the San Diego area's largest health care provider, has to date refused to recognize the union and to negotiate in good faith for a first contract, although a certification was issued by the full NLRB on February 10, 1997. Instead, Sharp HealthCare has stooped to delaying tactics in a transparent attempt to destroy the union and deny its registered nurses their right to a union and a voice in how they are treated on the job. Management has appealed the election to the NLRB, and it has intimated that it will continue its appeal strategy into the courts.
Unions represent the largest organized group of health care consumers in San Diego County -- more than 250,000 members and their families. All unions with locals in San Diego and Riverside Counties can help support the registered nurses at Sharp HealthCare in their fight for recognition and a first contract.
The AFL-CIO Executive Council joins with AFSCME in encouraging all affiliates to create a clearinghouse of information on union members' purchases of health care in the
San Diego area. Affiliates who participate in jointly trusteed multi-employer health plans can explore alternatives to plans that use Sharp HealthCare as a preferred or primary provider, and affiliates that participate in employer-provided health plans can explore the same options with their employers. Unions can also keep their members informed about the quality, staffing and access to treatment at Sharp and about alternatives to using this company or its affiliated doctors as their primary health care providers.
Through the support of Sharp HealthCare's registered nurses, the labor movement can show this company and others that every worker is entitled to the civil and legal right to organize and join a union, and we will not tolerate or excuse breaches of that basic principle of fairness and dignity.