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Law360 (December 8, 2020, 10:12 PM EST ) A nurses' union sued two Florida hospitals Tuesday, alleging they violated collective bargaining agreements by refusing to arbitrate grievances filed over changes to pay during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In two separate suits filed in the Middle District of Florida, the National Nurses Organizing Committee — Florida/National Nurses United AFL-CIO accused both St. Petersburg General Hospital and Northside Hospital of refusing to arbitrate a grievance filed over a "pandemic pay" policy that cut salaries in units with reduced volumes to 70% of employees' base pay without notifying the union.
This policy changed the bargaining nurses' base and on-call pay without following the steps required by their collective bargaining agreements, according to the suits.
The union also claims St. Petersburg General has violated the collective bargaining agreement by requiring nurses to "float" among units without fulfilling competency requirements and protocol. Under the agreement, nurses are not supposed to be required to float outside of similar units unless there is an emergency situation, according to the suit.
The union said it filed grievances with the owner of both hospitals, Galen of Florida Inc., in early May and asked for arbitration, but by late June both hospitals had responded that the grievances did not meet the definition of a grievance under the collective bargaining agreement.
The union is asking for the court to direct the hospitals to select arbitrators with the union and engage in arbitration. The union is also requesting attorney fees and costs for the lawsuit.
Attorneys for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
The union is represented by Jose Javier Rodriguez and D. Marcus Braswell Jr. of Sugarman & Susskind PA.
Counsel information for the hospitals was not immediately available.
The cases are National Nurses Organizing Committee — Florida/National Nurses United AFL-CIO v. Galen of Florida Inc., case number 8:20-cv-02917, and National Nurses Organizing Committee — Florida/National Nurses United AFL-CIO v. Galen of Florida Inc., case number 8:20-cv-02915, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
--Editing by Daniel King.
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