Big Sky nurses vote to join Montana Nurses Association

Registered nurses employed with the Big Sky Surgery Center in Missoula voted in June to join the Montana Nurses Association. The RNs won with 78 percent of the vote. The group, 25 in all, approached the Montana Nurses Association for representation four months ago. The nurses are organizing trailblazers and are believed to be the first freestanding surgical center nurses ever to join a union.

"We believe that we can improve our workplace and advocate for ourselves," says Amy Brown, a registered nurse at the center.

The RNs approached the union because they wanted fair and equal treatment in the workplace; they also wanted to be able to voice their concerns without fear of employer retaliation.

"The nurses have played a key role in the success of this center, says Brown, who has been a nurse for 29 years and employed at Big Sky since the center first opened 16 years ago. Brown led the charge for the nurses to organize because they had no voice. "There was no path for advocacy, no structure for grievances."

A group of physicians founded the center in 1998. The clinic was small at first but grew quickly. Today, it serves patients from a wide region and provides services ranging from ear, nose and throat to gynecology to pain management. The setting is unique in that it runs Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. (or until patients leave). However, the nurses believe the constantly evolving board of directors and the different styles of leadership at the facility have spawned vague and inconsistent policies.

"Ultimately, we are out to win the respect that our work entitles us to," says Brown. "This isn't about wages and benefits; it's about strengthening our ability to care for our patients. By having a voice, we can look out for patients and ourselves professionally. And we can speak about how we impact the bottom line from a care prospective."

With this victory, all of the nurses won the right to collectively bargain a contract with a goal of creating a fair work environment by solidifying consistent policies, eliminating inconsistent decision-making, creating a fair grievance process and reducing the fear of intimidation, says Robin Haux, labor program director for the MNA. "The dedicated nurses of the Big Sky Surgery Center took a big first step in strengthening their voices."

MNA Executive Director Lori Chovanak notes that the union and the nurses "are excited about moving forward with securing the first contract, solidifying consistent policies and addressing the issues that brought them to the point of organizing." [Adrienne Coles]

July 8, 2014