Home-Care Nurses Join Union Local

Home-care nurses at Columbia Los Robles Hospital have joined the Service Employees International Union Local 535, which already represents the hospital’s 400 registered nurses in their first contract negotiations.

By a 9-3 vote Monday, the 12 home-care nurses joined the Pasadena-based union with the hope that they will be able to join the registered nurses in negotiations for a three-year contract, said Jim Moreau, a senior field representative for the union.

“The vote is a message to management that nurses are strong and will fight for what they feel is fair,” he said.

Moreau said the hospital has been unwilling so far to include home-care nurses in the contract negotiations. “It’s a permissible subject for bargaining but it’s not mandatory that they be included,” he said.

The home-care nurses receive no benefits and are required to put in about eight unpaid hours each week filling out paperwork, Moreau said.

He said the hospital for two years has promised benefits but never provided them.

Hospital officials had little to say on the union vote or the negotiations.

“They have made their wishes known through a government-sponsored secret-ballot election, and we will respect that,” said Kris Carraway, a hospital spokeswoman.

In addition to wanting home-care nurses added to the negotiations, the union seeks a contract that includes pay increases and the restoration of vacation days for its members.

The two sides are scheduled to meet again Oct. 29.