Judge declines to toss nurses' pay-conspiracy suit
By Daniel Connolly May 22, 2007 - Memphis Commercial Appeal
A federal judge's ruling means a labor union can continue a lawsuit that claims Baptist Memorial Health Care and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare conspired to set low wages for registered nurses.
U.S. District Judge Samuel H. Mays Jr. denied the hospitals' request that he dismiss the suit, and wrote that two nurses backed by the Service Employee International Union didn't have to provide more details about the alleged conspiracy at this point in the case.
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"(The nurses) have adequately alleged the nature and object of the conspiracy, and they have explained how the alleged conspiracy creates an anti-competitive effect," he wrote.
He also ruled in favor of the union on related issues.
Cathy Singer-Glasson, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, nurse who heads the SEIU's nurse alliance, said the ruling is a success in a larger effort to improve wages and working conditions for nurses, steps that she said can draw more people to the profession.
"The ruling of the judge is actually a win for nurses and more importantly, a win for patients because it could affect the number of nurses working at the bedside," she said. "And that affects quality of care for patients."
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