OSU hospital employees seek union vote

COLUMBUS (AP) -- About 400 employees of the Ohio State University Medical Center want to unionize for better pay and working conditions.
Teamsters Local 284 has worked for almost a year to represent the patient-care associates, clerical workers and licensed practical nurses.
The group is one of the few nonmanagement groups at the hospital without union representation.
Its members say even though they help registered nurses care for patients, they're paid less than housekeepers and transportation workers.
"We want a union election, and we want it now. It shouldn't take almost a year to schedule a vote," said Helen Moore, a patient-care associate who has worked at the hospital for three years and has helped organize the unionizing effort.
Delayed vote
A union vote could be delayed until December pending a hearing before the State Employment Relations Board. Attorneys for the university and the Communications Workers of America disagree on who should be in the bargaining unit.
The CWA says the union should include workers at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital, the planned Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital and University Hospitals East.
Ohio State wants to include comparable workers at the cancer center but exclude licensed practical nurses.
The university said it opposes the union drive.
"We believe that direct communications between our employees and managers is preferable," said Steve Stoffel, administrator for human resources at OSU Medical Center.