Health facilities
ask court who should
care for union dues
Ten local health care facilities filed a request last week in U.S. District Court asking the court to determine who should be paid union dues collected from the registered nurses they employ.
Both Hawaii Nurses Association, the professional organization representing registered nurses; and the collective bargaining organization, which handles salary and benefit negotiations for the nurses, sent letters to the facilities in September indicating dues should be paid directly to them at different post office boxes.
Currently, both groups share one office where the dues have been sent.
The facilities requesting the court ruling are Queen's Medical Center, Kaiser Foundation Hospital and Health Plan, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, Kauai Medical Group, Kuakini Medical Center, Kuakini Geriatric Care, St. Francis Medical Center, St. Francis Medical Center-West, Straub Clinic and Hospital and Wilcox Memorial Hospital.
The court filing is called an "interpleader," said Barry Marr, the attorney representing the hospitals. "It's a fairly unusual procedure," he said.
"The hospitals don't dispute they owe the money. Rather, it's a mechanism to pay the money to the court and they hold it until it's determined who the proper payee is," he said.
HNA and the collective bargaining organization are embroiled in lawsuits with one another in a dispute over financial management.
The union is asking the court to terminate its financial association with HNA, which had handled all money coming in for both groups. HNA maintains the collective bargaining organization is not an autonomous body.
The union dues collected from members are used to fund both groups.
Nurses pay a flat rate per month for their union dues. In the case of registered nurses, that amount is about $43 per month, said Sue Scheider, chief negotiator for the union.
Scheider said she does not know when a hearing will be scheduled about the hospitals' request.
Meanwhile, another hearing relating to the two lawsuits is scheduled for Oct. 10 in federal District Court, she said.
