Baltimore County school administrators want to put about 105 elementary school nurses in a bargaining unit that now represents teachers' aides and clerical workers. But the nurses don't want any part of it.
"We feel very strongly that nurses should be represented by a nursing unit," said Shirley Albert, president of the Baltimore County chapter of the Professional Staff Nurses Association (PSNA).
The association represented elementary-school nurses while they were employees of the county health department. But when former County Executive Roger B. Hayden transferred them to the school system, the nurses lost their representation because the schools already had the maximum number of bargaining units allowed under state law.
School administrators want the nurses to be represented by the Baltimore County Instructional Assistants and Clerical Employees Inc. (BACE), one of the three unions representing noncertified school personnel. School system attorney Margaret Ann Howie said BACE is the most appropriate unit, because one of the other unions represents supervisors and the other represents bus drivers and maintenance workers.
The school board has delayed action on the proposal until it can hold a public hearing, which has not been scheduled.
Because of a change in state law that affects Baltimore County only, middle- and high-school nurses, who are required to have bachelor's degrees, are considered certified and are represented by the Teachers Association of Baltimore County. When part of the health department, elementary-school nurses did not have to have degrees, though now those hired do.
Although PSNA has continued to represent the elementary nurses informally, Ms. Albert said, "It's not a recognized bargaining unit with the Board of Education."
She said PSNA was able to get salaries for the elementary-school nurses increased to the level of secondary-school nurses with similar degrees. When they were health department employees, the elementary-school nurses were paid 25 percent to 30 percent less than their secondary-school counterparts.
Ms. Howie said that she was concerned "with the perception" among the nurses that BACE is a nonprofessional organization and, therefore, not appropriate.
BACE has about 730 members, divided almost equally between clerical workers and instructional assistants, said BACE president Marcella Kehr. She said she would welcome the nurses.
"I would be happy to have them in our unit," she said. "I would like them to be happy."
BACE plans to give the nurses appropriate representation on all committees and the board of directors, she said.
Ms. Kehr said her members don't like to be thought of as nonprofessional, and that 60 percent of the county's instructional assistants have college degrees.