Post updated at 8:32 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21:
An overwhelming majority of participating employees at Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center cast votes Tuesday in favor of union representation by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 304.
Payton Smith, organizer for IBEW Local 304, said 308 Bert Nash employees were eligible to vote during the onsite election, which was conducted by the National Labor Relations Board.
Those who participated voted in favor of unionization 168 to 12, Smith said in a text message following the ballot count.
“Community Mental Health Workers United is very proud and excited about their union victory today,” Smith said. “For the first time, Bert Nash employees will have a say in their working conditions, and they are firm in the belief that this will have a positive, lasting affect on the care provided to Douglas County. CMHWU’s slogan is ‘Our working conditions are your healing conditions’. We look forward to bargaining with Bert Nash executives for real change.”
A group of Bert Nash employees announced Oct. 15 their intent to form a union, Community Mental Health Workers United. They cited burnout, high caseloads and turnover, as well as a desire for a guaranteed seat at the table to help improve quality of care for clients as well as safety, training, wages and working conditions for staff.
Erin Reazin, a Bert Nash therapist, celebrated the victory Tuesday evening.
“I’m so relieved about the definitive win for our union,” Reazin said in a text message. “Bert Nash employees deserve so much better and so do our Douglas County clients. With the union now in place, I feel hope that better is possible.”
Bert Nash staff, including some who work at the Douglas County Treatment and Recovery Center, were eligible to receive one of two secret ballots for Tuesday’s election. Both ballots asked full-time and regular part-time Bert Nash employees to vote yes or no to the question “Do you wish to be represented for purposes of collective bargaining by (IBEW Local 304)?”
Smith said the two voting groups were separated based on job titles as well as education and licensure requirements. The groups were categorized as “professional” and “non-professional” units by the NLRB.
Members of the nonprofessional group included medical records staff, unit coordinators, behavioral health specialists, information technology techs, and accounting, billing and office support specialists, among others.
Members of the professional group, such as case managers, some nurses, therapists, psychiatrists, homeless outreach specialists and more were presented with an additional question that asked whether they wished to be included with “nonprofessional employees for purposes of collective bargaining.”
Both questions received a majority of yes votes, Smith said; therefore the bargaining unit will be composed of professional and nonprofessional staff members going forward.
Jeff Burkhead, a spokesperson for Bert Nash, said via email Tuesday that the center’s team members had shared their voices, “and we deeply value them.”
“We fully support and respect their decision. We appreciate everyone who participated in this important process,” Burkhead said. “This decision reflects the integrity, compassion, equity, on a foundation of hope we uphold at the Bert Nash Center. We see this as another proactive step towards ensuring that our workplace continues to be a supportive environment where every voice is heard and valued. Together, in alignment with our values, we look forward to continuing our mission to advance the health of the Douglas County community through comprehensive behavioral health services in partnership with our dedicated team members.”
Smith said the union’s next steps included bargaining preparations, such as putting together proposals for contract negotiations with Bert Nash representatives.
According to information posted on the NLRB’s website, after a union has been certified as a bargaining representative, the “union and employer must bargain in good faith about wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment until they agree on a labor contract or reach a stand-off or ‘impasse’. If negotiations reach an impasse, an employer can impose terms and conditions so long as it offered them to the union before impasse was reached. Once a contract is in place, neither party may deviate from its terms without the other party’s consent, absent extraordinary circumstances.”
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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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