Hennepin County ? faced with a Thursday deadline to provide evidence substantiating its challenge of the Minnesota Nurses Association's organizing victory at Hennepin County Medical Center ? backed off the challenge and withdrew its objections to certification of the union.
County labor relations director Bill Peters had filed the challenge Dec. 14, alleging fraudulent signatures and coercive behavior by union supporters. However, in a letter to the state Bureau of Mediation Services dated Thursday, he withdrew the objections, while leaving options open to revive the case at a later date.
The challenge came after BMS certified, through a card-count process, that a narrow majority of the 1,016 eligible registered nurses at HCMC signed cards selecting MNA as their bargaining agent.
MNA repeatedly maintained that the charges were without merit and that BMS should reject Peters' challenge. Walt Fredrickson, labor relations director for MNA, said Thursday, "It looks like we?ll move forward from here."
Josh Tilsen, director of the representation unit at BMS, said the agency had given Peters until Thursday to submit evidence supporting its allegations. BMS had not decided whether to conduct an investigation, scheduling a hearing, or dismiss the challenge, he said.
Union opponents launch petition
Under the card-check process, Hennepin County had agreed not to actively oppose the union's organizing drive and to recognize MNA if a majority of HCMC nurses signed a union authorization card. MNA won the card count by a margin of just five cards, according to results that BMS certified on Dec. 5.
After the certification, Peters said, "We received a petition from approximately 300 nurses" raising complaints about the card-count process. "No one's saying the allegations or concerns are facts," Peters said. But, he added, "If people feel the process was tainted in any way, it casts doubt on the majority status." Peters' Jan. 12 letter suggested that "individual employees or the representative of such employees" may pursue those concerns with BMS.
In the union's formal response to the county's challenge, MNA staff attorney Phillip Finkelstein said, "The fact that many people may be upset or disappointed in the final result should not change the final outcome."
Finkelstein argued that Hennepin County not only failed to back up its allegations, but that the county should have raised its objections under the terms of the card-check agreement, not after the fact. He also raised his own concerns about tactics used to gather signatures on the petition questioning the card count, including reports that supervisors helped circulate it.
Compiled from reports by Union Advocate editor Michael Kuchta and Minneapolis Labor Review editor Steve Share.
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Hennepin County ? faced with a Thursday deadline to provide evidence substantiating its challenge of the Minnesota Nurses Association’s organizing victory at Hennepin County Medical Center ? backed off the challenge and withdrew its objections to certification of the union.
County labor relations director Bill Peters had filed the challenge Dec. 14, alleging fraudulent signatures and coercive behavior by union supporters. However, in a letter to the state Bureau of Mediation Services dated Thursday, he withdrew the objections, while leaving options open to revive the case at a later date.
The challenge came after BMS certified, through a card-count process, that a narrow majority of the 1,016 eligible registered nurses at HCMC signed cards selecting MNA as their bargaining agent.
MNA repeatedly maintained that the charges were without merit and that BMS should reject Peters’ challenge. Walt Fredrickson, labor relations director for MNA, said Thursday, “It looks like we?ll move forward from here.”
Josh Tilsen, director of the representation unit at BMS, said the agency had given Peters until Thursday to submit evidence supporting its allegations. BMS had not decided whether to conduct an investigation, scheduling a hearing, or dismiss the challenge, he said.
Union opponents launch petition
Under the card-check process, Hennepin County had agreed not to actively oppose the union’s organizing drive and to recognize MNA if a majority of HCMC nurses signed a union authorization card. MNA won the card count by a margin of just five cards, according to results that BMS certified on Dec. 5.
After the certification, Peters said, “We received a petition from approximately 300 nurses” raising complaints about the card-count process. “No one’s saying the allegations or concerns are facts,” Peters said. But, he added, “If people feel the process was tainted in any way, it casts doubt on the majority status.” Peters’ Jan. 12 letter suggested that “individual employees or the representative of such employees” may pursue those concerns with BMS.
In the union’s formal response to the county’s challenge, MNA staff attorney Phillip Finkelstein said, “The fact that many people may be upset or disappointed in the final result should not change the final outcome.”
Finkelstein argued that Hennepin County not only failed to back up its allegations, but that the county should have raised its objections under the terms of the card-check agreement, not after the fact. He also raised his own concerns about tactics used to gather signatures on the petition questioning the card count, including reports that supervisors helped circulate it.
Compiled from reports by Union Advocate editor Michael Kuchta and Minneapolis Labor Review editor Steve Share.
Related article
Hennepin challenges nurses’ victory at HCMC