Clark County in Nevada has suspended the union contract for medical workers at Las Vegas-based University Medical Center, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The contract for UMC workers is among the union contracts suspended by the county for some 9,000 employees. The county operates the hospital.
In an email to county employees obtained by the Review-Journal, Clark County Manager Yolanda King said the contracts would remain suspended during the COVID-19-related emergency declaration by the county.
"This was necessary to allow us to quickly change employees' schedules and take other steps to make us all safer while providing critical services to our community," Ms. King wrote. "This was one of many necessary measures that we have used to make the County more responsive during this extraordinary time."
Ms. King also noted the potential economic effect. She estimated the county expects to lose $1.1 billion revenue over the next 12 to 18 months, including at the hospital and McCarran International Airport.
But SEIU Local 1107, which represents about 4,000 UMC employees, is against the contract suspensions. Union leaders told the Review-Journal they are concerned that changes could lead to relaxed nurse-to-patient ratios and policies about personal protective equipment.
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