Two firms back right-to-work effort

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_8965005

By Andy Vuong
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 04/18/2008 12:46:15 AM MDT

HealthOne, which owns seven for-profit hospitals in metro Denver, and American Furniture Warehouse are among several financial backers of the Colorado right-to-work initiative.

"We have made a contribution to it (the campaign)," HealthOne spokeswoman Leslie Horna said Thursday. "It's not something we're working on actively."

She declined to say why the company supports the movement, which seeks to prohibit workers from being forced to join a union and pay dues or fees.

The Service Employees International Union, a leading health care union, has said it would like to organize more than 50,000 registered nurses in Colorado. The SEIU Local 105 represents about 2,000 health care employees in the state but none at HealthOne.

The SEIU also operates the Nurse Alliance of Colorado, a grassroots movement of nurses focusing on political activism, employer partnerships and public education.

HealthOne has 8,900 employees. In 2006, its hospitals, which include Swedish Medical Center in Englewood and Presbyterian/St. Luke's in Denver, earned nearly $284 million in pretax net income, according to a report released this month.

FULL story at link.