Efforts to unionize clinical and office staff at Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center are on track for an election.
Representatives of Community Mental Health Workers United filed a petition Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board with signatures from at least 30% of the bargaining unit in support of unionization, said Payton Smith, organizer for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 304.
Smith said next steps in the process would include negotiations between the union and Bert Nash representatives to decide which job titles would comprise a bargaining unit and to determine specifics such as date, time and location for the upcoming election.
Approximately 300 staff members whose duties span the Douglas County Treatment and Recovery Center and Bert Nash’s programs would be eligible to participate in the secret-ballot election. Typically excluded are executive leaders and managers or supervisors with hiring and firing authority.
The NLRB will certify the union as its exclusive collective-bargaining representative if the union wins a majority of the vote. Smith said union supporters have the votes needed.
Jeff Burkhead, Bert Nash spokesperson, said via email Thursday the organization respected and supported its “employees’ autonomy to decide what best serves their interests and aligns with our mission to advance the health of the Douglas County community through comprehensive behavioral health services” and it would “support our employees in whatever decision they make in that process.”
“For 74 years, the dedication of our team members at the Bert Nash Center has enabled our community to access critical behavioral health services,” Burkhead wrote. “We deeply value the hard work and commitment of our staff, who are essential to our mission. We support our team members, including taking efforts to uphold the rights granted by the National Labor Relations Act, which gives employees the right to a secret ballot election in making an informed decision whether to choose to form a union or not.”
Since the pandemic began in 2020, Bert Nash has expanded exponentially with the addition of the TRC, the Mobile Response Team, certification as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, and the implementation of a substance use treatment program for people ages 14 to 21. Tax filings show the nonprofit organization’s revenue grew from $12.9 million in 2020 to $22.7 million in 2022.
Plans to launch a Youth Recovery Center in 2026 in partnership with O’Connell Children’s Shelter also are in the works at 3500 Clinton Place, formerly known as LMH South.
Bert Nash employees have said that rapid growth has led to increased burnout and turnover. They cite the need for better pay and working conditions, meaningful involvement in policy development, and enhanced training and safety measures, among other reasons, behind their efforts to unionize. Read more about that at this link.
A Bert Nash employee who requested anonymity said in an interview Thursday she and other union backers are ready for the union election and are “tired of seeing high turnover and burnout disrupt the continuity of care that our clients need and deserve.”
She said they support “a thoughtful and sustainable growth process to be able to better serve our community while keeping the jobs that we love. Every single coworker in support of the union is filled with the desire to provide better care to existing clients and increase capacity to serve a larger number of community members.”
She said Bert Nash employees have always worked toward change, but it’s taken longer than it should to bring about some of that change; those who’ve left out of frustration or burnout, often have done so reluctantly. She is hopeful unionizing will boost retention and the ability for staff to negotiate pay raises.
“I know that my coworkers are ready to vote for a union and to have a say in these big decisions that affect us and therefore our clients,” she said.
And while the unionization process has provided space for airing problems within Bert Nash, it’s also revealed good stuff such as pride in employees’ union efforts, as well as a fuller picture of what the organization and its staff can offer the community, she said.
“We do feel really siloed from each other, and there are people that are in support of the union, that love their jobs and their supervisors and have very few complaints about their job, and they know that’s not everyone’s experience,” she said. “And so we want to make sure that everybody loves their job at Bert Nash, and we want to make our roles sustainable.”
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Tricia Masenthin (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at tmasenthin (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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