Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, Calif., for the third time is appealing a union election that took place last fall, according to a Napa Valley Register report.
The November 2016 union election involved more than 400 service and technical workers, who decided by a margin of approximately 3-to-2 to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers.
In the hospital's latest appeal, Donna Schelling, director of human resources at Queen of the Valley, asked the National Labor Relations Board for a new union vote, claiming the election "did not ensure that all voices were heard," according to the report.
Michael W. Garrison Jr., attorney for the hospital's parent company, Providence St. Joseph Health, added that hospital officials "do not believe the employees' right to free choice has been permitted" due to the quantity of "lost" mail ballots and challenged ballots, according to the report.
The hospital has lost two previous appeals. It now seeks a new election using in-person voting, by April 20, Ms. Schelling said in the report.
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