Logan Health accuses union of 'smear campaign'

Several Logan Health executives have challenged a recent newspaper advertisement that criticized the hospital's CEO by comparing his involvement in the Kalispell nurses' union bargaining process to another CEO's actions at a Helena-based hospital where nurses also voted to unionize.

The advertisement was published recently in the Daily Inter Lake by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, the nurses union at Logan Health. The headline of the ad read: "When it comes to Montana hospitals, it's a tale of two CEOs," and compared St. Peter's Health CEO Wade Johnson to Logan Health CEO Craig Lambrecht.

The ad focuses on how Johnson reportedly spent a full day at the bargaining table with the St. Peter's Health bargaining unit, and quickly reached a three-year contract last month. That contract included annual wage increases for nurses — something Logan Health nurses have demanded since negotiations began in 2019, among other improvements to benefits and working conditions.

The ad then pivots to Lambrecht, stating that, unlike Johnson, he hasn't been to the bargaining table during the past 20 months of negotiations.

"It's possible to settle a union contract that's good for nurses, patients and the community," the ad states. "It takes a leader to make it happen. It's time for Dr. Lambrecht to be that leader."

IN A letter to hospital staff, six executives at the hospital described the ad as "dishonest" and a "shameful personal attack" on Lambrecht. The group said the ad omitted important details, including the fact that the nurses in Helena are represented by the Montana Nurses Association, not SEIU. And according to Logan Health Chief Transformation Officer Cindy Morrison, distinguishing one union from another is vital.

"Unions, from an operational standpoint, have very fundamental similarities. However, each union has a playbook, a behavior profile and a negotiating style that can be very different," Morrison told the Daily Inter Lake Thursday. "We have observed those differences, spoken to colleagues in other markets, and did our own research into their behavior profile and playbook."

Morrison highlighted how Logan Health has experienced negotiating with both the Montana Nurses Association and SEIU. The Northern Rockies Medical Center, which Logan Health recently acquired along with many other facilities in the region, reached a one-year contract with the MNA Local 25 nurses union on Wednesday.

Cherie Taylor, CEO of the Cut Bank-based clinic, said the parties reached a contract agreement in three sessions over the course of three days.

"Importantly, the balance that was achieved is a mutually beneficial agreement," Taylor said, adding that Cut Bank registered nurses will now earn a starting wage of $28.50 — the same pay offered at Logan Health facilities in Shelby and Conrad.

Morrison added that the two unions differ in size and scope, saying SEIU "dwarfs" the MNA, which is Montana-based, while SEIU is headquartered out-of-state. SEIU represents roughly 2 million members across the United States and Canada, while the MNA represents about 3,000.

Morrison alleged SEIU "doesn't have the same level of interest in the nursing profession" as the MNA, and that its "primary interest" is expanding membership, including workers other than nurses.

An SEIU representative did not respond to questions about the content of the union's advertisement by press time.

LOGAN HEALTH'S letter to hospital employees also took issue with the ad's position that Lambrecht should be present for bargaining sessions.

Hospital management alleged it was a tactic out of a "widely criticized playbook" used as a way of saying Lambrecht won't "come to the table" and to politicize meetings.

"Our CEO is fully aware of these tactics and will not succumb to this type of manipulation. Our two main negotiators are Ryan Pitts, chief nursing officer, and Brian Mathews, executive director of human resources, who are representing all of us in management, including the CEO," the letter stated, adding that Lambrecht and the hospital's management team brief the representatives before and after every bargaining session.

Morrison said CEOs typically do not sit at the bargaining table themselves, and that leaders such as Pitts and Mathews have more intimate knowledge of matters pertaining specifically to nurses.

"Who better to understand nursing issues than a nurse who has experience at the bedside and a labor relations specialist with significant experience in nursing issues and contracts?" she asked, emphasizing that Lambrecht is "intimately involved" in the briefings.

THE NOTICE to employees concluded the ad was a "smear campaign" that lacked context.

Morrison pointed a 2018 publication from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce titled "The Tactics of Union Corporate Campaigns," which focuses heavily on SEIU's Contract Campaign Manual, specifically its "pressuring the employer" section and a reference to a decade-old lawsuit.

In early June, hundreds of union nurses participated in a three-day strike to protest what they view as Logan Health's unwillingness to budge on union demands. Among other things, nurses have called for increased staffing, reinstating a charge nurse on every unit, a nurse staffing committee, and improvements to wages and benefits.

Hospital management maintains that some of the nurses' demands, mainly those involving wages, are unreasonable, while nurses argue the changes are needed to address recruitment and retention issues at the hospital and to achieve better patient care and satisfaction.

Reporter Kianna Gardner may be reached kgardner@dailyinterlake.com.