Nurses union in internal dispute
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
An apparent power struggle has flared between members of the Hawai'i Nurses Association and its collective bargaining division.
Last week, the Collective Bargaining Organization of the Hawai'i Nurses Association filed a federal lawsuit against its parent group, Hawai'i Nurses Association, claiming fiscal mismanagement.
Tuesday, HNA filed a petition in state Circuit Court seeking an order to require CBO to meet before an arbitrator to resolve their financial and budgetary disputes.
The CBO was created by HNA in 1979 to represent more than 3,600 nurses in collective bargaining matters, and each entity is represented by a separate board. HNA provides services to elevate the standards of the nursing profession.
The federal lawsuit alleges that dues collected by CBO and turned over to the parent group have been mismanaged. The lawsuit also says that HNA has failed to file financial reports and audits.
Among the allegations, the lawsuit accuses Maureen McCarthy, fiscal officer at HNA for 15 years, of authorizing a $20,000 check for herself when she retired. The lawsuit also said HNA's acting executive director, Stephani Monet, used an HNA credit card to pay for personal items in excess of $2,000.
Autonomy sought
The CBO seeks an order that would force HNA to turn over money collected by the union to CBO, and to refrain from management over CBO money.
The lawsuit also seeks to establish the Collective Bargaining Organization as an autonomous entity, separate from the HNA.
The CBO lawsuit was filed on behalf of the organization by T. Anthony Gill and Wade Zukeran.
But in its petition, the HNA accuses CBO directors of planning to "drastically and unilaterally change the financial procedures and policies" of CBO, which the petition says CBO has no authority to do. The complaint also said CBO members "illegally" changed locks to the HNA fiscal office.
"The CBO has simply hijacked the HNA accounting office and refused to provide HNA with a key to its own office," the complaint said.
HNA officials said that their articles of incorporation require that the two sides meet in arbitration to resolve financial and budgetary disputes. But the complaint said CBO has refused to do so.
The petition was filed on behalf of HNA by Margery Bronster, Cynthia Quinn and Erika Ireland.
Bill Richter, a nurse at The Queen's Medical Center and member of CBO's board, denied HNA's allegations and said that CBO's bylaws allow for the organization to be an autonomous group.
Richter said CBO wants to manage its own money because HNA has failed to do an adequate job.
Post-strike inquiry cited
Richter said the problems surfaced during the nurses' strike at Queen's, St. Francis and Kuakini hospitals. In December, nearly 1,400 nurses walked off their jobs for more than a month, and the strikes were characterized by often-bitter negotiations.
"During the strike, it became evident that the resources that many of the CBO members had provided by virtue of their dues wasn't available for the activities and the actions that they rightly deserved during the strike," Richter said.
After the labor disputes were resolved, CBO began to look into the HNA's finances and met with resistance from HNA officials, Richter said.
"When we did get information, it wasn't very representative of what the financial situation should be," he said.
HNA officials could not be reached for comment.
Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com
