Local News in Brief : Hospital Union Triumphs

Under mounting pressure from unionized hospital workers, officials at seven Kaiser Permanente medical centers in the Los Angeles area have indefinitely suspended the use of an unpopular demerit system as a way to curb tardiness and absenteeism.

In a memorandum distributed to workers last week, officials from Kaiser--the largest and oldest health maintenance organization in the nation--also apologized for imposing the demerit system without union approval.

The system went into effect in January at Kaiser medical facilities in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties. Under the policy, demerits were automatically doled out based on time card entries. Union leaders complained that the system was inflexible and unfairly punished conscientious employees for, among other things, coming to work early.

The company’s decision came less than two weeks after union leaders representing Kaiser’s 17,000 Los Angeles-area employees sought support from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

In the memorandum, Kaiser Regional Manager Hugh A. Jones wrote: “We regret that the modifications to the program have created unnecessary anxiety among the employee population. That was unanticipated and unintentional.”