Down to four, back to five, up to six?
Just weeks after the National Labor Relations Board dismissed one of the five unfair labor practice charges filed against Duke by the International Union of Operating Engineers, the IUOE filed another charge.
And if the IUOE decides to appeal the NLRB's earlier dismissal of a charge concerning wage and benefit improvements for certain nurses, the total number of unfair labor practice charges thrown at Duke will come to six.
The latest charge cited Duke Hospital CEO Mike Israel and an e-mail he sent out to all hospital nurses. "Mr. Miller and Operating Engineers Local 465 have gained a great deal of publicity and attention from this situation," Israel wrote in the e-mail. "However, his legal maneuvers force [Duke University Medical Center] to maintain the status quo with regard to RN's wages, benefits and conditions of employment while other area hospitals are free to make pay and benefit changes that put DUMC at a competitive disadvantage."
IUOE spokesperson David Miller said the latest charge is a result of Duke wanting "to have it both ways."
"The [NLRB] dismissed the charge about the implementation of benefits," he said. "On the other hand, Israel says that as a result [DUMC] has to remain at status quo-less competitive and unable to make improvements."
But anti-union nurse April Perry said she did not read the e-mail this way.
"I interpreted it as saying that we wouldn't be able to change anything that wasn't already in place," she said.
Israel refused to comment to The Chronicle on the specifics of the matter, but he told The Herald-Sun of Durham July 8 that his definition of status quo is "still having to do things the way we did so in the past."
"If we can't show the NLRB there is a paper trail in place, quite frankly, we've got to maintain the status quo while other organizations are making changes," he told The Herald-Sun.
But Miller said he did not believe that argument. "It's hard to buy what [Duke] presents," he said. "They continually produce false and inaccurate statements and blame things on the union. Duke has lost all credibility in my eyes."
Israel declined to respond to Miller's comments and would only reiterate to The Chronicle that his main goal is to bring the issue to a vote.
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