The National Labor Relations Board has stopped a mail-in ballot union election at Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital in Laurium, Mich., amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Bloomberg Law reported.
In a decision issued Aug. 25, the board's majority granted an emergency motion to stay the election. Chairman John Ring and members Marvin Kaplan and Bill Emanuel also granted a request for review of an NLRB regional director's Aug. 17 decision ordering a mail-ballot election, saying Aspirus Keweenaw's appeal of the decision "raises substantial issues warranting review."
Board member Lauren McFerran dissented. She wrote: "There is no basis for even suggesting, let alone concluding, that the regional director abused her discretion in ordering a mail-ballot election based on the threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic."
Workers at Aspirus Keweenaw initially filed for an election in July to determine whether about 60 registered nurses and house supervisors would choose to join the Michigan Nurses Association.
Jennifer Hadsall, regional director of the NLRB's Minneapolis office, on Aug. 17 ordered the mail-in ballot election and said this election avoids uncertainties created by the pandemic.
Aspirus Keweenaw argued that an in-person vote is appropriate, citing a relatively low level of COVID-19 cases in Houghton County and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as well as various safety measures for staff and visitors it implemented. However, Ms. Hadsall said COVID-19 transmission is still too high and that an in-person vote is unsafe despite Aspirus' safety plan, according to Law360.
The hospital appealed her decision. Law360 reports that the hospital's arguments included that Ms. Hadsall applied the "densely populated urban lens of her environs" to an area with a much lower risk of infection and that she placed "undue focus" on COVID-19 in other areas of Michigan while disregarding circumstances in the Upper Peninsula.
In response to the NLRB's decision to stay the election and review Ms. Hadsall's decision, Jamie Brown, RN, president of the Michigan Nurses Association, told Becker's Hospital Review: "We are in the middle of a pandemic and nurses are working on the front lines without a collective voice at Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital. It has been over a month since RNs first requested an election. It is completely unacceptable for there to be any delay in this process. The vast majority of RNs at Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital have publicly stated that they want a union. The stakes are too high for there to be any delay in front-line workers being able to negotiate for the good of patients. The federal NLRB must stop prioritizing corporate executives' wishes over its duty to behave neutrally."
The hospital said in a statement that it has sought to allow employees to make a fair and free choice about unionization. But is disagreed with the NLRB's most recent decision.
"The regional director ordered a mail ballot election even though Board precedent favors an in-person, secret ballot election at the worksite," Aspirus Keweenaw said. "Our RNs have been working at the hospital since the pandemic hit, delivering outstanding patient care and keeping themselves and our patients safe. The idea that they can’t vote in person at an acute care hospital doesn’t square with the facts. The in-person election with a secret ballot is the best way to ensure our employees are free from coercion and can make a fair and free choice. We look forward to resolving this issue with the board in Washington providing necessary oversight and guided by precedent."