Labor Board to Hear Nurse’s Complaint

The National Labor Relations Board plans to hear a complaint filed by a Columbia Los Robles Hospital nurse, who claims she received a poor job evaluation because of her union organizing activities.

Catherine Sullivan has been active in urging the 11 other registered home-care nurses at the hospital to join the Service Employees International Union Local 535. The nurses are scheduled to vote on the matter Oct. 20.

She said Columbia officials gave her poor performance marks in July for what they said was a demonstrated lack of respect toward her superiors.

Sullivan, who has been a home-care nurse for seven years, including two at Columbia, said she had never received a poor evaluation before this summer.

Jim Moreau, a senior field representative for SEIU’s Local 535 in Pasadena who is coordinating the organizing effort, blamed Sullivan’s poor evaluation on her organizing work. He said the hospital’s actions are illegal and that they create a “chilling effect” for other workers who seek union representation.

“They sense the company can coerce them,” Moreau said. “It’s basically saying, ‘We don’t want you to organize.’ ”

Moreau said he hopes the labor board will ask Columbia to retract the negative remarks on the evaluation and apologize to her and the other home-care nurses in a posted memo.

Sullivan said home-care nurses receive no benefits and are required to put in about eight hours each week filling out paperwork at no pay.

“We’ve been promised benefits since the home-care department opened in 1995,” she said. “We haven’t seen any. It’s an issue of respect.”

Local 535 already represents Columbia’s 400 registered nurses who are on staff and is currently negotiating their first contract.

Moreau said 10 of the 12 home-care nurses have signed union cards, signifying that they want Local 535 representation.

In a prepared statement, Columbia “denies that the employee was discriminated against in her performance appraisal . . . or that her appraisal score was negatively impacted due to her alleged union activity.”

Nathan Laks, a labor board agent, could not be reached for comment.