Hospitals, nurses tussle in contract negotiations as pandemic highlights complaints healthcaredive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from healthcaredive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Montana Nurses Association and St. Peter's Health based in Helena have ratified a collective bargaining contract for more than 300 nurses in the area.
The Montana Nurses Association and St. Peter's Health based in Helena have ratified a collective bargaining contract for more than 300 nurses in the area.
KALISPELL, Mont. - Negotiations are on the table between the nurses union and hospital administration. However, a separate group s formed and is looking to end the nurses relationship with its current union, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.
The group, formed on Facebook, is called Nurses and Community Unite. As of now, the Facebook group has 101 members. On June 1, they filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to get a vote to no longer be represented by the union. Seven days later, on June 8 the petition was withdrawn.
The nurses union at Logan Health is considered a closed shop. While the union negotiates and bargains on behalf of all nurses and all nurses are required to pay some fees, not all nurses are required to be members and pay membership dues. The Nurses and Community Unite group is seeking another vote on whether or not the nurses would like to be represented by this union.
Nurses Weigh In Against SEIU Strike in Kalispell
There s two stories taking place with the hospital in Kalispell this week. The first big story is the fact that nurses affiliated with the SEIU union are in the middle of a three day strike. The other big story is that several nurses do not support the SEIU and have now filed a petition to break ties with the labor union.
We spoke with Sheila Stencil and Todd Bernhardt from Nurses and Community Unite (NACU). Stencil is a nurse with Logan Health, formerly known as Kalispell Regional Hospital. She tells us that she and other nurses are picking up extra shifts and working longer days to ensure that patients continue to receive the care that they need in the middle of the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) strike.