Seeking More Pay, Encino Hospital Nurses Join Union

Upset over staffing levels and pay, nurses at Encino Hospital have voted to unionize, joining a growing number of unionized hospitals owned by Santa Barbara-based Tenet Healthcare Corp.

Union organizers said Saturday they would immediately ask hospital management to negotiate a new contract with better pay and staffing levels for the nurses.

Jerry Clute, Encino Hospital chief operating officer, said management would be willing to talk, but saw little room for pay increases. Most Encino Hospital nurses are paid between $19 and $30 an hour, he said.

The 53-29 vote for union representation came Friday, a week before a planned one-day strike by nurses at another Tenet-owned facility, Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center, which would be their second walkout in the past six weeks. Unionized nurses at Midway Hospital Center in Los Angeles--also owned by Tenet--are planning a strike vote on Monday, union leaders said.

Local 535 organizer Bob McCloskey said Encino Hospital’s management has already made several improvements, including 6% raises for longtime nurses, higher staffing levels and promised safety equipment.

“They would have never done those things unless we were in there fighting for union representation,” McCloskey said.

Clute said any further changes would probably be hampered by union involvement.

“I find it doubtful that there would be much give in the dollars and cents, but we will certainly sit and talk,” he said. “We prefer to talk directly with employees. The union is not our preferred choice, but we have to respect their decision.”

At Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center, nurses are demanding 8% across-the-board raises and safer working conditions. Tenet said its nurses are already among the highest paid in Southern California--a contention undisputed by leaders of the American Federation of Nurses, Service Employees International Union, which includes Local 535.

Since the Sept. 15 walkout, hospital managers have not changed their position, offering their most experienced nurses a 6% raise over one year and a 4% increase for newer nurses.

The last one-day strike turned into a three-day lockout when Tenet hired 90 nurses from a replacement firm and turned away most of its regular staff.

Dale Surowitz, the Encino-Tarzana chief executive officer, said the hospital will contract with the firm, U.S. Nursing, again if the strike occurs.

Times correspondent Michael Baker contributed to this story.