Nurses file labor charges
against KapiolaniThe union is protesting
the reassignment of licensed
practical nurses in some areas
The Hawaii Nurses' Association Collective Bargaining Organization is accusing Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children of bad faith bargaining and undermining union recognition. It has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board.
The union representing registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, alleges the hospital has announced plans to reassign bargaining unit work from LPNs to unlicensed assistive personnel.
"The decision makes no apparent sense," said Sue Schneider, collective bargaining organization director.
"Kapiolani management maintained at the bargaining table that the trends and its increasingly high-tech needs as a specialty hospital required it to move toward having registered nurses providing all the care."
The plan was negotiated and ratified in August, according to Larry O'Brien, hospital president and chief executive officer.
He expressed disappointment at learning of the charges from the news media.
"We've never had the intention of eliminating nurses from the bedside," he said. LPNs are being replaced by RNs on the hospital side and with medical assistants at the clinic level.
Each of the LPNs is eligible for a $7,000 tuition assistance stipend to complete RN studies, or for an early retirement incentive.
LPNs have also been encouraged to apply for openings at sister hospitals, he said.
