Members of the union representing 650 nurses at Kalispell, Mont.-based Logan Health have begun a strike.
Four things to know:
1. SEIU Healthcare 1199NW delivered a strike notice May 21 to management at Logan Health, which was recently renamed from Kalispell Regional Healthcare. The strike began at 7 a.m. June 1, and workers are prepared to strike through 6:59 a.m. June 4.
2. The nurses seek increased staffing as well as reinstatement of the charge nurse on every unit, a nurse staffing committee, and improvements to wages and benefits to recruit and retain nurses. They also claim the health system has made efforts to "weaken the nurses' resolve to stand together as a union."
3. In a May 27 letter to the union, shared with employees June 1, President and CEO Craig Lambrecht, MD, said the union's recent actions "do not lend to reaching any successful conclusions" in negotiations, and that SEIU Healthcare 1199NW increased economic demands in recent proposals. Logan Health also said it is prepared to continue operations and "has commitments from more than enough nurses who are willing to step in and care for" patients during the walkout.
4. The nurses on strike work at Logan Health in the clinics, hospital, long-term care facility, behavioral health, and home care and hospice. They unionized in July 2019.