Union vote remains on hold (SEIU vs CNA)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/04/26/sns042708union.html



By Kelly Mori

Staff Writer

Sunday, April 27, 2008

SPRINGFIELD — A union fight that began at nine Ohio hospitals has moved to venues around the country, leaving local hospital officials and employees unsure if a unionization vote canceled in March will be rescheduled.

Last week the California Nurses Association obtained a restraining order against Columbus-based Service Employees International Union after accusing the SEIU of attacking CNA members during a Michigan conference. The SEIU has accused the CNA of union-busting after it interfered in an NLRB election involving 8,000 employees of Catholic Healthcare Partners, including those at both Springfield Regional Medical Centers.

In the meantime, the Ohio Nurses Association is attempting to organize in Springfield along with "everyone else," said ONA spokesman Brett Anderson.

That has left some hospital employees, who worked three years to get a chance to hold a union vote, very frustrated. And it leaves Catholic Healthcare Partners, which worked out an agreement with the SEIU to hold the vote, sitting on the sidelines as unions fight.