The
Episcopal Church Home and the National Labor Relations Board have reached a
settlement over allegations that ECH used unfair labor practices to prevent the
home’s 235 employees from unionizing.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Employees at ECH initially
approached 1199 SEIU Upstate because of dissatisfaction with benefits, staff
turnover and shortages, lack of a clear pay scale for new and veteran
employees, and other issues.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Earlier this year, the board charged
Episcopal administrators and managers with “interfering with, restraining, and
coercing” pro-union employees. ECH hired well-known union-busting consultants
Jackson Lewis to advise ECH management.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Employees rejected the union by a
117 to 96 vote — there were seven challenged ballots — held last June.
The settlement
came together last month. The terms require ECH to post a notice listing
practices it will not engage in to prevent a union from forming. Among those:
ECH will not “implicitly threaten” employees with reprisals or terminate or
discipline employees because of pro-union activities.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “It’s the strongest posting I have
seen in my 25-year career,” says Bruce Popper, executive vice-president of 1199
SEIU.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The notice must be posted in
“conspicuous places” at the facility for 60 days.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “Workers have confirmed it’s up,”
Popper says.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ECH must also pay former employee
Regina Johnson $2,400 in lost wages. Johnson, union officials say, was fired
for supporting the union. ECH must also remove from its files a disciplinary
warning given to employee Fionna Robinson.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “I think that the settlement
agreement we reached was a fair way to bring that whole process to a
conclusion,” says ECH President and CEO Loren Ranaletta.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The complaints made by the workers
and the labor board, Ranaletta says, do not “in any way, shape, or form”
represent an official position by anyone at ECH.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “Our position is very clear. We did
not do anything that violated any of the terms in the law,” he says. “We would
never intend to do that. I think by posting that settlement agreement, it shows
certainly our strong respect for the law and what our intentions are.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Ranaletta refused to talk about
anything other than the settlement agreement, including what, if anything, ECH
is doing to address the workplace concerns that caused employees to seek out
the union in the first place.
The
settlement, Popper says, is a symbolic victory because ECH employees ultimately did
reject the union. But, he says, it often takes more than one attempt to get a
successful vote. And signs are good, he says, that ECH employees will give it
another shot.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “They haven’t made that decision,
but there’s a core group [that’s] still around,” he says. “They came over to
the union Christmas party a couple weeks ago and were very spirited. This has
really boosted their morale tremendously.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The earliest another vote can be
held is June 28, 2004, Popper says. Workers can file for the election in March.
This article appears in Dec 24-30, 2003.
