BGH nurses reject contract offer

SANDPOINT — Negotiations between Bonner General Health and its nurses will continue after a contract offer proposed by hospital administration was rejected by nurses last week. 

"We are disappointed that our proposal did not pass and are interested in continued negotiations," said Sheryl Rickard, hospital CEO, in an email to the Daily Bee Monday.

Val Holstrom, secretary and treasurer of the Teamsters Local 690 in Spokane representing BGH nurses, said negotiations have been ongoing for just over a year, and this is the second vote rejected by a vast majority of the nurses in that time. Currently, the biggest objection by nurses to the proposed offer is a mandatory call schedule.

"There has been an issue, at least from our perspective, that the hospital has a large percentage of open positions," Holstrom said. "And because of those open positions, nurses volunteer in addition to their regular work week to pick up the open shifts week in and week out."

Holstrom said the nurses are happy to volunteer their time to serve the community, but when individual nurses already volunteer as many as two shifts per pay period, which adds up to almost a full work week of extra shifts each month, a mandatory call schedule on top of the regular schedule and volunteerism is "getting to be too much." A mandatory call schedule, he said, could impose an additional two or three shifts per month.

Holstrom said the nurses developed an economic package that was accepted by the hospital, so wages are not an issue in these negotiations as they have been in the past.

"The contract was not rejected because of the economics," Holstrom said. "It was more a quality of life issue and the increase in the number of days to be available for work."

In negotiations earlier this year, Holstrom said the nurses offered a compromise of a voluntary call schedule for a trial period of one year with a monthly review by department. The nurses could then look at potential problems and work with their management team to come up with ideas to solve problems on a regular basis. Holstrom said the offer was partially included in the proposed contract, which included additional volunteerism to pick up shifts.

"The biggest sticking point was placing two groups of nurses, eventually, in the mandatory call section of the contract, which is what the nurses objected to," Holstrom said. "So they did incorporate some of what we said we would accept in there, but in the end the opportunity to have mandatory call for these nurses is what ultimately got it rejected."

Rickard said the hospital is asking maternity and emergency department nurses to be on the mandatory call schedule to address fluctuating patient needs. She said on-call staff is essential to maintaining patient care with unpredictable demands and unplanned absences.

"This is necessary for the hospital to ensure that our community's needs are met," Rickard said. "Our nurses in home health care and hospice and surgical services have participated in call for several years. It is common practice for nurses to be on call and recognized as a professional obligation in the health care industry."

Another issue raised during negotiations is a 16-hour rule for occasional nurses. Occasional nurses are paid a 13-percent premium and time-and-a-half if they are asked to work with less than a 16-hour notice. Hospital officials proposed removing the 16-hour requirement.

Holstrom said the 16-hour notice rule was already hospital policy when Teamsters negotiated its first agreement for the nurses in 2006. Some of the occasional nurses have jobs outside of the hospital as well, he said, and while they have the option of accepting a shift or not, they are required to work a minimum number of hours.

In August, BGH nurses approved a strike authorization, but Holstrom said they have no intention of calling a strike. A strike authorization is part of an internal process to put benefits in place in case a strike does happen, but Holstrom said the Teamsters settle 99 percent of agreements without a strike.

"We never want to strike an employer," Holstrom said. "Strikes are a last resort where nobody really wins."