Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest HMO’s, endorsed a union proposal to increase nurse-staffing levels yesterday. Kaiser’s move, however, has led the United Nurses Assns. Of California to believe that the company wants to use the less broadly skilled licensed vocational nurses in place of registered nurses to do work that requires register nurse’s experience. The action pits the United Nurses Assns. Of California against the Service Employees International Union, which represents many licensed vocational nurses.
See "Kaiser Backs Union Plan to Boost Nurse Staffing Levels", Charles Ornstein, Los Angeles Times, July 19, 2001