SPOKANE, Wash., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Recently, nurses at Bonner General Hospital in Sandpoint, Idaho reached settlement on four outstanding disputes. The approximately 110 nurses are members of Local 690 in Spokane, Washington.
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"This settlement is very important for the nurses, who continue to perform their jobs capably despite management's refusal to negotiate a fair contract," said Buck Holliday, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 690. "With this settlement, we have gotten the hospital to agree to resume negotiations in good faith."
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With this settlement, the hospital agreed to: meet and negotiate with the union at least four times a month and to report the meeting dates and outstanding issues to the National Labor Relations Board; stop dealing directly with nurses over bargaining issues; and stop discriminating against the nurses.
The nurses voted to join Local 690 in August 2006 in order to secure a collective bargaining agreement that would allow them to have input into issues such as patient care and safety, working conditions, staffing, disciplinary actions, wages and benefits. To date, the hospital has failed to negotiate in good faith.
The four unfair labor practice charges were filed by Local 690 on behalf of the registered nurses allege the hospital's: failure to meet at reasonable times and places for contract negotiations; failure to bargain in good faith; unlawful direct dealings with nurses; and discrimination against nurses.
"The nurses are happy with the agreement," said Al Hobart, President of Teamsters Joint Council 28 in Tukwila, Washington. "They and we look forward to working with management to negotiate a fair and equitable contract as soon as possible."
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
SOURCE Teamsters Local 690
