Registered nurses at nine Appalachian Regional Healthcare hospitals, including Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital and Summers County ARH will strike Dec. 12 to protest an alleged breach of contract, a spokesperson for the Kentucky Nurses Association said Tuesday.

“ARH has announced that on Dec. 12 it will unilaterally abolish modified work week schedules for a large number of registered nurses at ARH hospitals,” said Bill Riggs, director of the Department of Labor Relations for the KNA.

“This action will impose a terrible hardship on RNs and their families,” Riggs said.

The modified work week means nurses work three 12-hour shifts with no overtime and receive 40 hours pay.

“By virtue of their profession, nurses are the ones who provide care of children, aging relatives and other family members,” Riggs said. “They signed an agreement with ARH and have built their schedules around that contract. They’ve worked out schedules with employers, with spouses and family members. The blatant disregard ARH has shown for the contract has made things totally disruptive for these nurses.”

The contract, signed a year ago, is to be in effect until 2007, Riggs said.

The Kentucky and West Virginia Nurses Associations plan to strike, picket and participate in other concerted activity beginning at 12:01 a.m. Dec. 12 unless ARH officials retract their plans to do away with the modified work week agreement, Riggs said.

“We will use all legal remedies available to us,” he said.

ARH has also violated the collective bargaining agreement by approaching nurses individually to bargain with them regarding work schedules, Riggs said.

“That’s a violation of the contract. It’s a violation of the labor law, and it’s a violation of nurses’ rights,” Riggs said.

In a prepared statement issued Tuesday by ARH corporate offices in Hazard, Ky., the system-wide plan to abolish modified work week schedules came about after research indicated these schedules are not in the best interests of quality patient care.

“ARH management has been analyzing staffing needs for some time and has found that a substantial amount of non-productive time provided by the modified schedule drains financial resources that could be utilized to provide system improvements in patient care,” the statement says. “For this reason, such an arrangement should be used only in those circumstances where it makes sense in fulfilling the overall mission of ARH in providing quality care to the various communities it serves.”

The release goes on to say, “The practice of paying full-time registered nurses 40 hours for 36 hours of work is unusual hospital-wide, based on hospitals surveyed in Kentucky and West Virginia. ARH will work with collective bargaining representatives to explore other scheduling options, including some limited use of 36 for 40, where it determines that the practice is feasible and appropriate for individual nursing units.”

ARH spokesperson Candace Elkins said in a separate prepared statement, “Yes, we have received the notice (of the impending strike), and it has been referred to ARH management and legal counsel. We are evaluating the notice and how it relates to the contract, what it actually means and how ARH will respond.”

Area nurses say they are afraid to go on the record for fear of retaliation.

“And with good reason,” Riggs said. “In April, nine nurses were suspended for one day for participating in a community education rally. Now, the nurses are afraid to speak up.”

Litigation in behalf of those suspensions is under way and expected to be adjudicated in 2006, Riggs said.

Riggs said he hopes during the next 11 days ARH officials and community leaders in the towns where ARH hospitals operate will reverse the decision to violate the contract.

“We hope the board of trustees of ARH and community leaders will help ARH officials understand the impact of this blatant violation of the nurses’ contract,” Riggs said.

— E-mail:

bdavis@register-herald.com