U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson in Youngstown, Ohio, said Tuesday Massillon, Ohio-based Affinity Medical Center and its owners must negotiate with the National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United, according to a GateHouse Ohio Media report.
Ms. Pearson in a temporary injunction also ordered the hospital and its owners to provide the union, which represents workers at the hospital, with previously requested information regarding Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health, the spinoff of Affinity's parent, Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, according to the report.
The case stems from claims by union and National Labor Relations Board officials that Affinity did not try to reach a labor deal for nurses in a timely manner. GateHouse Ohio Media reports the judge this week found that Affinity participated in "surface bargaining," as opposed to negotiating in good faith, and therefore violated the National Labor Relations Act.
"Generally, (Affinity) has been unwilling to alter its Oct. 5, 2015, package proposal .... although driving a hard bargain is not enough to constitute surface bargaining, their stubbornness, combined with (Affinity's) other actions, demonstrates 'an intention on its part to avoid reaching an agreement,'" Ms. Pearson wrote, according to the report.
Ms. Pearson ordered Affinity to resume contract negotiations within seven days, among other stipulations, according to the report.
Affinity in a statement obtained by GateHouse Ohio Media said it respects Ms. Pearson's order.
"As the order states, the court has not, and will not decide the merits of the union charges at this stage. We are actively engaged in defending against the charges, and we fully anticipate that once this case is judged on its merits, our hospital will prevail," the statement reads.
"Affinity Medical Center has no issue complying with the order, as the hospital has been actively engaged in good-faith bargaining efforts with the ... union for more than three and a half years. In fact, Affinity has aggressively pursued these efforts by routinely offering additional opportunities to come to the table for discussions. The parties would have met more frequently had the union not rejected numerous proposed dates or offered alternatives."